Czech Republic grab history-making Olympic invitation after blowout of Greece / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Media Credit FIBA Media

Player of the Game EFF 28 Jan Vesely Points 16 Accuracy 7-9 Rebounds 8 Assists 5

The Czech Republic men's basketball hadn't played in the Olympics under their own flag. In 2019 they qualified for their first World Cup. Now they checked another box with the win against Greece 97-72 (32-22, 18-21, 31-11, 16-18). In the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Canada, victory sealed an invitation to Tokyo for the Czech Republic. They will play Team USA, France and Iran in the group stage. The team coached by Ronen Ginzburg triumphed over Canada in the semifinal after an overtime thriller. They blew out the Rick Pitino-led Greece in the final game, largely thanks to an impressive 28-11 run in the third period. With a 6-man rotation, the Israeli coach squeezed the best out of his players.

Patrik Auda had been playing well through the tournament, but against the Greeks, he produced one the best performances of his career: 20 points on 8 for 9 from the field in 18 minutes was more than Pitino and his men could handle. Bohacik (15 points on 3 for 6 three-point shooting), Balvin (14 points, 7 rebounds), Vesely (16 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists), and Satoransky (12) formed an insurmountable squad next to the 31-year-old big.On the other hand, Greece were passive and received fierce hammering in the second half without being able to respond and cut down their opponent's lead. Although very few expected the Greeks to make it to the final, the outcome left them with a bitter taste and an atrocious final turnup. Papagiannis and Larentzakis (14 and 12 points, respectively) stood out from the rest, but the overall team defense was as lumpy as any we've seen in this tournament.The Czechs went off on an explosive start, taking an 11-2 lead after 3 minutes. Greece vividly resembled their first-half performance against Turkey, turning the ball over several times and having difficulty in defending virtually all of Ginzburg's players, who scored on 9 of their first 11 attempts.

Free throws this season

79%13,0Points made:13,0Accuracy:78,8%Place in standings:10Record max:18Record min:10Most made FTs:Tomas SatoranskyTeamOQTStatisticsSchedule

Five consecutive points by Larentzakis were used as a wake-up call for the Greeks, but the team from Eastern Europe continued to dominate. Auda scored against every Pitino's big; Balvin never stopped amassing rebounds, and as for the other Czech players, all they had to do was pass him the ball for him to dunk it or lay it in.

Greece decided to foul every time Vesely would have a low post mismatch, but that pretty much summarizes what the "blue and white" were capable of doing on the defensive end. In fact, whenever Chrysikopoulos had to pull off a stop, the Czech Republic made light work of him. The good news for Greece was that Papagiannis put up 12 points in the first half, and Larentzakis was having a great shooting night.

The quick tempo mostly benefited the Czechs, who went 16 for 22 on two-point attempts before halftime. Cutting off Sloukas and Calathes proved pivotal, as the Greek duo combined for only 3 assists in the first 20 minutes. Without a reference point on the court or concentration, Pitino had to develop rather unorthodox schemes. Rogavopoulos stayed on the court much more than his role would suggest because Mitoglou and Chrysikopoulos were not delivering on either end.

In the third Bohacik scored eight in a row to make it 68-51, and Balvin completed an 11-2 run for the Czech Republic. The score at the end of the third quarter was 81-54, and a feeling of "game over" was evident within the Greek camp.

The Czechs proved that they were a force to be reckoned with, and the future could be bright for them if they manage to keep the same core of players that have led the country's basketball to the forefront.

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