Giannis Antetokounmpo gets hacked a lot of times in the NBA and gets rewarded for it from time to time. Some hard fouls don’t get called but the Milwaukee Bucks star is probably used and built for it since he plays inside a lot.
The story is different in Europe. That’s what his Greece coach Vassilis Spanoulis thought.
Greece faced off and won against Spain, 90-86, in the last day of Group Stage of the ongoing EuroBasket 2025. They got the top spot for the victory instead of falling down to top four with a loss. Spain, the defending champions, are shockingly eliminated early.
The Greek Freak, one of the top players in the tournament, recorded an almost triple double of 25-14-9 on nine out of 15 shooting.
Antetokounmpo had help in that very important game with Tyler Dorsey pouring 20 points making the shots from the Bucks star’s assists while Kostas Sloukas added 12 points.
Greece won the game but Spanoulis, like in previous victories, think it could have gotten better. This time it is not because of the way his players played but because of the officiating.
Giannis Antetokounmpo should have gotten more FTs
The Greek Freak had 12 free throw attempts in the game but Spanoulis is dismayed that the referees are treating him differently compared to other offensive players.
“One more time, I have seen a lot of difference in the number of free throws,” the coach said after the game.
“I have to see the game again. In such a game, one team can’t have 37 attempts and the other 19. You can’t have Luka (Doncic) and other players taking 20-23 free throws per game and Giannis begging to get a foul while getting hacked.”
“Just 12 free throws are few for Giannis; he could have had another 10 for sure. We have a team in which we respect everybody, and first of all, me, as a person, I respect a lot coach Scariolo and Spain, which has accomplished amazing things over the last 15 years, but I have to be fair with myself and the game, and to say the truth”.
Greece are now through to the Round of 16 and will face Israel. They reached the quarterfinals in the 2022 edition but were eliminated by Greece. They haven’t won EuroBasket since 2005.
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