story by Donatas Urbonas
"We tried to set a lot of picks. We tried to set a lot of early picks, so to avoid the pressure," Spanoulis explained to BasketNews how he tried to open the change the offense. "We tried to carry the ball with the opposite guy than Dort because he's really good at pressuring the ball. I think we started the game a little bit under pressure, and I didn't understand that. It took us one half to understand that we have to play great basketball, our basketball, and to show our character. This half that we missed was a lot."
He also voiced concerns about the level of physical contact permitted by defenders like Dillon Brooks and Lu Dort.
In fact, both Brooks and Dort fouled out in the fourth quarter, allowing Greece to close the gap afterward. However, their defensive pressure posed a significant challenge for Greece.
"I think they fouled a lot, but they didn't give them some of the fouls [they deserved]. They played a lot of times with two hands, and a lot of times, I didn't understand how the situation on both ends was different," Spanoulis said to BasketNews. "But in the second half, we were more aggressive and got to the rim more. We played unbelievable defense. We received 38 points in the second half. So this is what we won."