Dimitris Itoudis spoke after the match of the second round at the FIBA World Cup, in which Greece was defeated by the United States by 109-81.
Greece couldn’t make the game against the favorites more interesting. The Americans smoothly handled the task, and after the match, Dimitris Itoudis analyzed the game.
“I would like to congratulation the USA, they played better obviously, they were a better team, unfortunately, we could not compete in the way we wanted to. We want them to feel on the court they haven’t felt before. They have amazing percentages form the field and free throws, also they have almost 40 % percentage off rebounds in front of our board.
“We missed 36 shots, and we only grabbed seven offensive rebounds. It wasn’t a good game for us. I hope this will help us improve against New Zealand. I believe the Americans will go all the way to the end,” said Itoudis after the match.
Itoudis commented on what his team needs to change against New Zealand.
“To beat New Zealand, we’ll need to be more solid and better control the rebounds. They play very physically and apply pressure. One of the key things against New Zealand will be precisely that physicality.”
The Greek coach particularly praised the Americans for one aspect.
“Above all, I would say that the Americans are well-prepared, they have an excellent defensive strategy. They’ve shown that they respect us, and that’s commendable because they were prepared for us. We’ve learned a lesson and seen how we should play. I hope we stay healthy” Itoudis concluded.