Brazil Coach Rips Giannis Antetokounmpo After Beating Greece in FIBA World Cup
Brazil coach Aleksander Petrovic had some harsh words for NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo following the team's thrilling 79–78 win at the FIBA World Cup in Nanjing, China, on Tuesday.
The Brazilian squad overcame an early double-digit deficit to move into first place in Group F with a victory, advancing to the second round thanks in part to 39-year-old Alex Garcia's ability to stifle Antetokounmpo throughout the contest.
Antetokounmpo finished with 13 points but fouled out late in the fourth quarter.
"Why this sport is wonderful," Petrovic said. "You have a guy who won MVP, he's 23 years old, and who stops him tonight? The guy who is 40 years old and kicks his ass.
"We showed that we have several players who can stop Antetokounmpo," Petrovic added. "But yesterday I was more occupied with [Kostas] Sloukas and [Georgios] Printezis, and that's what happened today. When I was preparing this game, a lot of people talked and joked about how to stop Antetokounmpo. I had for six months in my head, since the semifinals between Toronto and Milwaukee, how to stop Antetokounmpo. The problem tonight for us was Sloukas and Printezis."
Brazil was down by 17 at one point in the first half but managed to trim Greece's lead to 10 at halftime. Greece's Sloukas had three free throws with two seconds left that would have tied the score but only made two. Bruno Caboclo batted the ball away to seal the win for Brazil.
Anderson Varejao led Brazil with 22 points and nine rebounds. Printezis led Greece with 20 points in 25 minutes.
Greece will face New Zealand on Thursday while Brazil will take on Montenegro.
