FIBA World Cup: Czech Republic wins in loss to Greece

Greece can’t overcome 12-point deficit

At Shenzhen, Greece effectively came into their final game of the second round trailing the Czech Republic 12-0 before the opening tip because of the tiebreaker implications of the game.

Greece looked to be in position to get to that margin, leading 67-57 with 5:37 to play when NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks grabbed a defensive rebound and made a run coast-to-coast to the rim.

Already saddled with four fouls — two of them on charging calls in the first half — Antetokounmpo collided with Czech center Ondrej Balvin, who on the replay appeared to have both feet off the ground at the point of contract, and was whistled for the offensive foul.

If Greece was going to get to its 12-point margin, it would have to do so without its best player over the final 5½ minutes.

The Greeks never got there. Their largest lead in the game had been 12 points with 6:47 to play, but the Czech Republic made a run to close to within two at 70-68 with 2:13 to go on a 3-pointer from their unlikely hero, Jaromir Bohacik — who scored 25 points.

Greece’s got the lead back to nine on a 3-pointer by Nick Calathes with five seconds left, but Bohacik’s two free throws iced the … loss … for the Czechs.

The Greek basketball federation has filed a protest with FIBA to ask that the officials from Monday’s game be banned from future FIBA assignments, according to Aris Barkas of EuroHoops.

Tomas Satoransky of the Chicago Bulls had another big game for the Czech Republic, playing 37 minutes and finishing with 13 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Balvin grabbed nine boards for the Czechs.

Calathes had a game-high 27 points to go with six assists and three steals for Greece, hitting 11-of-17 overall and going 5-for-9 from deep. Antetokounmpo finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals in 23 minutes, while Kostas Sloukas had 16 points for the Greeks.

The difference was at the foul line, where the Czechs made 21-of-22 free throws as Greece hit only 10-of-18.

Greece dominated in the paint by a 46-22 margin and had a 26-9 edge in points off turnovers — the Czechs turned it over 18 times to just nine for the Greeks.

But in the end, it’s the Czechs who will face Australia on Wednesday at 9 a.m. Eastern Time from Shanghai in the quarterfinals.

Team USA had its best shooting performance of the tournament, hitting 52.2 percent (36-for-69) overall, but still struggled from outside the arc, where they were just 8-for-25 (32 percent).

For the tournament, the U.S. is 15th among the 32 teams in the field with a 44.3 percent overall mark, but rank 18th at 32.7 percent from deep. No team has attempted more 3s in China than Team USA’s 32.4 per game.

Brazil’s veterans played big roles and Brazil hung around, trailing just 43-39 at the half before the U.S. depth took its toll in the second half.

Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers and Kemba Walker of the Boston Celtics led Team USA with 16 points each, with Turner adding eight rebounds and Walker dishing five assists. Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz had seven assists and Boston’s Jaylen Brown ended with 11 points and three steals.

Brazil shot 43.1 percent (28-for-65) overall and was 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) from deep, getting 21 points from Vitor Benite and 14 each from 36-year-old former NBA players Anderson Varejao and Leandro Barbosa.

Varejao also had eight rebounds.

The U.S., as the top finisher in Group K, will face France, which finished second in Group L. Their meeting is set for 7 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday from Dongguan.