EuroBasket: Germany, Spain into the semis

In the first two EuroBasket 2022 quarterfinals on Tuesday, Germany knocked down 17 three-pointer shots in ousting Greece to reach the semifinals where it will play Spain which rallied to down Finland.

Germany showcased a great offensive performance in beating Greece 107-96 in front of the home crowd in Berlin, Germany. Germany finished the night hitting 17 threes on 31 attempts, and also outrebounded Greece 46-32. FC Bayern Munich sharpshooter Andreas Obst opened the game on fire, scoring 8 points, two triples in the first 4 minutes to open 19-9 lead. Greece closed within 28-27 late in the first quarter behind Giannis Antetokounmpo. Olympiacos Piraeus shooter Giannoulis Larentzakis scored 8 points, including two triples early in the second, but Germany spent most of the second quarter in front with a help of a triple from ALBA Berlin's Maodo Lo, and two more threes from Obst. But Olympiacos point guard Kostas Sloukas finished the half strong, including a half-court buzzer beater that put Greece up 57-61 at halftime.

However, Germany opened the second half with a 7-0 run, that saw another three-pointer from Obst, then a 13-0 run with a pair of threes from Franz Wagner and one from EA7 Emporio Armani Milan forward Johannes Voigtmann that helped open a 77-62 margin. Greece never got closer than 9 points the rest of the way, as the margin broke the 20-point barrier in the closing minutes. Dennis Schroder paced the winners with 26 points and 8 assists, Obst netted 19 in as many minutes on 5-for-6 three-point shooting, and Wagner also scored 19 in a victory. Johannes Thiermann of ALBA Berlin was another scorer in double digits with 10 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds and Larentzakis had 18 points on 4-for-4 from long range in a losing effort.

Spain rallied from 15 points down to beat Finland 100-90 and reach the semifinals of the EuroBasket 2022 in Berlin, Germany. Finland hit 7 triples in the first half and led by Lauri Markkanen and Sasu Salin, and led as many as 15 points on three occasions in the second quarter. But Lorenzo Brown of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and former EuroLeague Rising Star Usman Garuba sparked Spain's run at the end of the half that closed a halftime gap to 43-52. After the break Lorenzo Brown and Willy Hernangomez fueled a big run, capped by Joventut Badalona's Joel Parra corner triple that gave Spain 60-57 lead midway through the third quarter. A three-pointer from Rudy Fernandez helped Spain take 73-65 lead late in the third quarter, and after Finland closed within 82-80 behind Alexander Madsen, Fernandez assisted for a triple from Dario Brizuela, then nailed one himself to make it 90-82 with 3 minutes to go, and Spain never looked back. Willy Hernangomez paced Spain with 27 points and Brizuela scored 14. Fernandez was 3-for-5 from three-point range and finished with 11 points, while Brown had 10 points, 11 assists and 4 rebounds in a victory. Markkanen collected 28 points plus 11 rebounds in a loss.