Greece Capture Bronze

Sofoklis Schortsanitis (Photo: FIBAeurope.com)

20-09-2009 22:06 | Gong.bg

For the first time since EuroBasket 1949 the bronze medal will shine on the chests of the Greek national team after they edged Slovenia 57-56 in the bronze medal game. Bostjan Nachbar missed a difficult shot from nearly half court with the buzzer to set the Greek fans and bench on fire.

Sofoklis Schortsanitis led Greece with 23 points on 78% shooting and six rebounds.
Jaka Lakovic was the top scorer for the losing side with 16 points, 13 of them in the last quarter.

It wasn't the best night for Nikos Zisis, who got in early foul trouble, but the winning plays came from his hands. Up by two with less than a minute to play he missed a jumper that could have given Slovenia the upper hand, but quickly recovered with an offensive board, and later on the play kicked out a pass to Antonios Fotsis who scored a three ball to set the margin on five, with 31 seconds on the game clock. Enough for a Bronze Medal.

Schortsanitis came off the bench early after Ioannis Bouroursis got in early foul trouble, and from the minute he stepped on court he was the dominating force under the boards. He scored 23 points and drew 12 fouls to carry his team to the podium.

After several good shooting nights Slovenia lost their accuracy tonight. They hit only 30% of their field goals and wrote a tournament low of 56 points.