EuroBasket watch: The Bogdan Bogdanovic takeover was in full effect
Eurobasket 2017 is well underway, and we take a look at how the three Sacramento Kings in the tournament fared on game day three.
You know the drill. It is time for our daily check-up on how Sacramento Kings players are doing at EuroBasket 2017. So here we go, episode 3 of basketball adventures in September featuring Bogdan Bogdanovic, Georgios Papagiannis and Arturas Gudaitis. (Read the first part here and the second one here)
Taking over one more time
Serbia got back to winning ways, and Bogdan Bogdanovic had a lot to do with it. After the not-so-great-but-still-alright game in the loss to Russia, the guard took over one more time. This time the Serbian side enjoyed an 80-74 victory against hosts Turkey in front of 10 000 people in Istanbul.
Bogdan notched up 17 points in 32 minutes, but here is the more impressive part. Sacramento’s up and coming shooter lit up the local side with 10 points in about minute and a half. That occurred in the fourth period, and Serbia went from down one to up by five on the scoreboard. That spark helped lift them to victory on September 4.
Related Story: Bogdan Bogdanovic's 2017-2018 depth chart prediction
Bogdanovic shot three of five on two-pointers, three of seven from deep and sank both of his free throws. Also, he had four boards, two assists, two fouls, two turnovers and a steal.
Serbia now has two wins and one loss in Group D as they head into a meeting with Great Britain.
A big Greek’s block party
Georgios Papagiannis came up with his best game at EuroBasket 2017 so far, but that wasn’t enough. Greece lost 78-72 to Slovenia, but the youngster’s performance was a joy to behold. The 20-year old center started the game for his country and delivered. In 21 minutes of action, Georgios had 10 points, all from the field on 5 of 10 shooting. He added three rebounds and three quite impressive blocks, as well as three personal fouls and two turnovers.
Greece currently stands fourth in Group A with a 1-2 record as their chance of advancing remains alive.
Slowing down
Following his almost perfect game against Israel, Arturas Gudaitis slowed down against Italy. However, he still has a reason to smile, because Lithuania got their second win (78-73) in a row in Group B and took a step towards the next phase. The 24-year old forward had just three points in 15 minutes in the Lithuanian remake of the ‘Italian Job’, but grabbed six rebounds, splitting them equally on both ends.
Gudaitis shot one of one from the field and one of two from the line. We remind you that he is under contract in Europe, but his NBA rights belong to Sacramento.
The Lithuanians are on a two game winning streak, and their balance is 2-1 overall.