Asunto: UK vs Greece friendly

I'm sorry but I can't speak Greek. I hope you enjoy this article!

UK vs Greece friendly 24 April 2015
basketball.powerplaymanag...

Earlier this week, the UK played its first friendly game against Greece.
Both teams fielded strong rosters and played very different styles.

Offensively we experimented with our set play offenses (3 out 2 in) taking our time to take good shots, whilst the Greeks moved the ball quickly on offense always looking for the fast breaks, taking the first open look they could get, and crashing the boards (2 out 3 in).

Defensively we ran a zone, opting to man-mark one or two of their key threats. They ran a straight man to man and played really hard - they weren't afraid to put our players at the free throw line.

In the first quarter we found some good spaces mid and close range and scored our shots. We drew a lot of fouls this way from their aggressive defense, but turned the ball over less than they did which is a credit to our guards. We did well to keep them out the paint, but they started to find success from downtown that caused us a concern. Score UK 19-Greece 21

In the second quarter they collapsed in on us some more on defense, but we took advantage by finding and capitalising on our 3point shot opportunities. I think every guard and small forward scored a 3 pointer each scoring 5/5 and opening up a nice lead. The Greeks focused more on their 3 pointers too, but we closed them down much better this quarter. Score UK 50 - Greece 38

In the third both teams stepped up their defense. We didn't concede a single 3 pointer but we only scored one - and what was worse is that we struggled to score inside. So far this game we have 6 steals to their 3 and 2 blocked shots to their zero. They have the edge on rebound numbers. Not bad fellas. Score UK 63 - Greece 52

In the last quarter the Greeks clicked and started to mount a comeback. They kept finding the open man and started to sink a lot more of their shots both inside and outside the 3 point line. 7 assists tied to a great shooting % is no coincidence and something we need to work on preventing in future. For us, it was a big man's game. Our guards weren't making their shots so fed it to the big guys. Their shooting wasn't good with the aggressive defense in their faces, but we got looks especially from some great offensive rebounding and managed to put some away as well. Only one point up coming into the last couple of minutes, Jack Walker (never in doubt) took a scary 3 pointer (remind me to take out the 'Centre 3 point shooting play' out of the set play book!) and Sheldon and Craddock pressed home the advantage. Final score UK 83-Greece 79.

UK: Craddock 17, Hennessy 15, Carpenter 11
Greece: Rorris and Rigopoulos 13, Stroggylis and Spiridakou 10

Rigopoulous was man of the match mainly due to his ridiculous rebounding. (mental note - boxing out for next training session!)

A really enjoyable game and thanks to the Greek players and fans who came all the way to play at Sandynest Arena, UK.