Itoudis: 'Croatia's strategy was to beg us to shoot, but we were prepared for it' / News - Basketnews.com

Dimitris Itoudis described in the post-game presser following the game between Greece and Croatia how his team managed to overcome the shooting slump that has been accompanying them.

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Greece scored their tenth straight win in a EuroBasket premiere, knocking down Croatia 89-85 in Milan's Mediolanum Forum.

Player of the Game EFF 28 Giannis Antetokounmpo Points 27 Accuracy 9-24 Rebounds 11 Assists 6

Although the blue-and-white squad got off on the right foot into the tournament, coach Dimitris Itoudis saw his men suffer a four-minute blackout in the third quarter, which allowed Croatia to make a 15-0 run and get back in contention.

"It was, as expect ed, a premiere against a great team. We didn't start well, as Croatia had control on both ends. We came back really quick to go up by 16-17. Then, we relaxed against a team that had everything," Greece NT coach said in the postgame presser.

Itoudis stressed that the Croats gave his side a hard time "with their drives, kick-outs, and three-pointers."

However, it was Tyler Dorsey's scoring high with Greece (27 points on 9/17 from the field) that aided Giannis Antetokounmpo's comeback to the big scene. The 'Greek Freak' scored as many points as Dorsey (27), but needed 24 attempts to reach that mark.

For a team like Greece, shooting 30% from downtown and 76% in free throws is important. Low shooting percentages from the perimeter and the charity stripe had been a permanent companion of Itoudis' players throughout both prep and official games.

Despite that Croatia neared Greece twice, coming within two points (60-62, 82-84), Itoudis is willing to "keep the composure that we had in clutch moments. We were rebounding the ball excellently, drawing fouls, and playing smart."

Greece went very strong on the offensive glass, picking up 16 rebounds. Itoudis has it clear that there are still a lot of improvements to be made.

"We're still growing as a team. It's a long tournament, and our group has a lot of good teams. I don't think it's an easy group," he pointed out.

Greece / Schedule

Croatia Greece85-89 Greece ItalySat19:00 Great Britain GreeceMon15:00 Greece UkraineTue15:00 Estonia GreeceThu15:00

Ivica Zubac finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds; however, Itoudis said his team did a good job on the Clippers center initially. The main problem for Greece, according to their coach, was Hezonja "having some post-up situations against Nick Calathes," which ultimately didn't prevent Greece from keeping their composure.

But Itoudis had some praise for Croatia's play-caller. Damir Mulaomerovic was a point guard for Panathinaikos OPAP Athens back in 2002, while the Greek tactician was sitting next to Zeljko Obradovic at the Greek powerhouse.

"Croatia had a very good approach to the game. Mula was coaching great. We won a EuroLeague together and all their staff is doing a great job. We had to change a lot of things on both ends during the game and needed some mobility.

Their strategy was to beg us to shoot, and we had prepared some things for it. We're still missing two significant pieces," Itoudis concluded.

One of the players that got the best out of Giannis Antetokounmpo's kick-out passes was forward Dimitris Agravanis. The former Promitheas Patras and Olympiacos Piraeus [player wasn't particularly amused by Greece's performance.

"It was an OK game for us," Agravanis, author of 11 points and 4 rebounds, told media.

"We had good and bad moments, but we were clutch on both ends. It was a lesson for us ahead of the following games. It was nice to experience some hard moments in a group phase. Giannis made two blocks and dunked the ball."

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