Miracle Greece Edge Slovenia

Theo Papaloukas's driving lay-up with 6.7 seconds remaining completed a furious 14-1 flurry to the finish as Greece overcame a 12-point deficit in the final 2:30 to knock off Slovenia 63-62 and live on for another chance to defend their EuroBasket title.

Papaloukas added yet another chapter to his superstar and legendary status with 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, setting up another showdown with world champions and hosts Spain in Saturday's semi-finals.

"Slovenia played more intelligent than we did and better than us for 39 minutes. But we played better in the last minute. We had no chioce," said Papaloukas, who had two points and zero assists at half-time.

"We pressed, made lay-ups and we got the job done. We showed character to come back. We've been in these situations before."

"I'll never forget this game, this moment. This team is unbelievable. It's not the first time it's happened to us. But it shows that we never stop believing," said Nikolaos Zisis, who hit two foul shots and a three-pointer in the thrilling 14-1 spurt.

Lazaros Papadopoulos added 10 points for the reigning champs, who forced Slovenia into four turnovers and two missed three-pointers in the final 2:30. Jaka Lakovic had 14 points, five rebounds and three assists but his potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer fell well short of its target.

"It's heart-breaking. We played a great game until the final 2:30 and Greece are simply more experienced than we are," said Slovenia big man Erazem Lorbek.

Radoslav Nesterovic collected 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, and Matjaz Smodis added 10 points but it was not enough for the Slovenians, who lost their second straight game and face Germany in the 5th-8th place classificiation on Saturday.

Both teams came out ready to play and gave the fans a real back-and-forth battle with four lead changes and six ties.

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source : eurobasket2007.org