Giannis Antetokounmpo Olympics Stats (Aug 2): How did Greece superstar fare against Australia?
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece took on Australia on Friday in their 2024 Paris Olympics final group stage showdown. Greece needed a win to stay alive in the competition. They also needed a win by a significant margin to overtake Australia or Spain in the standings.
Giannis, who has had a tremendous run in his maiden Olympics run, inspired Greece to a 17-point lead at halftime. The Europeans maintained a healthy advantage through the third despite losing it 9-14. However, the momentum shifted in the Aussies' favor in the final period.
Greece won 77-71. They remain alive in their hopes of getting a knockout spot but will have to depend on Spain's result against Canada and South Sudan's against Serbia in Group C.
Here's Giannis Antetokounmpo's stats against Australia:
How can Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece qualify for the knockouts?
As things stand Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece are second in Group A with a 1-2 record. They need Spain to either beat Canada or lose by four or more points while needing South Sudan in Group C to lose by two or more points to qualify as a third-place team on point differential.
If this was Giannis' last game at the Paris Olympics, he would finish the campaign with a phenomenal output. He dropped 34 points in his debut game against Canada and 27 in the second game against Spain. Greece may not qualify despite that because of how difficult their group was, with heavyweights like Canada, Australia and Spain.
Greece had Giannis, but the lack of support around him saw them struggle against the likes of Canada and Spain. Nevertheless, the opening two games were close, and Greece was in the hunt for a win on both occasions but couldn't hold on. Should they prevail, their chances of advancing to the later stages of the tournament look good.
They have the size and potential on defense to cause troubles in a knockout contest, which they relied on against Australia on Friday. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo's excellent form will keep Greece in contention, too. Not many teams have the kind of defense to limit his threat.