Spain can not with Antetokounmpo

In their first preparation match for the Eurobasket that will begin on September 1, the Spanish team fell clearly in Athens against one of the favorites for the title, Greece, who will visit the WiZink Center in Madrid on Thursday after overwhelming in the first quarter Sergio Scariolo’s team, who took the opportunity to carry out several tests with a view to the championship. The renewed Spain, which will put its generational change to the test at the Eurobasket, improved after the break to reduce the enormous difference that the Hellenic team reached at the beginning of the second set (44-23), then led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and directed by Nick Calathes. However, Spain gave up again when Giannis came out again (31 points and 10 rebounds), who dominated Spain how and when he wanted.

In the debut of the recently nationalized Lorenzo Brown, the best of the team in the first half, Greece, who played with one more gear, was physically far superior to Spain. The national team, however, took a step forward in intensity and courage in the second, with veteran Quino Colom at the controls, without the Barça point guard opposite, and with Sebas Sáiz starring in the paint taking advantage of the star’s absence of the NBA Bucks.

Without Sergio Llull, who did not travel to Athens for personal reasons, nor Usman Garuba or Alberto Abalde, recovering from their respective injuries, the Spanish team had more shadows than lights in a friendly in which they showed many problems to stop Giannis, it was forcefully overcome on the rebound and, without the talent of other times with the Gasol brothers, he also lacked an outside shot.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was always unstoppable against the Spanish players, intimidated by the power of the versatile Milwaukee player, who when he was on the court was the absolute owner of the match. Spain got close to six points at the end of the third quarter (63-57), but when Greece needed to react, the Greek player called to be one of the great figures of the Eurobasket imposed his law, also sprinkled with dunks that raised the public that almost filled the OAKA. With Giannis, the Hellenic team came to play at will against a team that had, apart from those of Lorenzo Brown, the shoots of Jaime Fernández, Sebas Sáiz, Jaime Pradilla or Willy Hernangómez. However, it was disappointing, among others, the performance of Juancho Hernangómez, who should be, along with his brother, Llull and Rudy Fernández, one of the leaders of Spain in the European next month.