GB 77-93 Greece: battling brits fall short in milan
Great Britain were worn down by a classy Greece side to leave them still searching for a first victory at EuroBasket in Milan.
A star-studded Greece side – albeit with NBA megastar Giannis Antetokounmpo not leaving the bench – were made to work for their 93-77 victory.
Livewire Luke Nelson led the British scoring with 17 points while Myles Hesson (13) and Ovie Soko (12) were also in double figures and Gabe Olaseni fought for 13 boards.
Dan Clark, making a record-breaking 117 appearance for the team, hit 11 points.
But Olympiacos star Kostas Sloukas steered the Greeks to success to with a game-high 21 points off 5/6 three-point shooting.
After defeats in the opening Group C games to Ukraine and Croatia, GB held their own against the ninth-ranked team in the world for the bulk of the first three quarters.
But a burst of scoring – highlighted by two quick threes from the deadly Sloukas – took the GB deficit from three points to double figures midway through the third.
Greece, undefeated in the tournament, had led by just 46-43 at the half with GB impressing in the second quarter, but that lead grew late in the third and into the fourth as Sloukas and Georgios Papagiannis (17) helped turn the screw.
GB face Estonia on Tuesday before rounding off the group against Italy on Thursday.