Greece Is Europe’s Best in Basketball
Greece beat Germany, 78-62, on Sunday in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, to win its second European basketball championship, frustrating Dirk Nowitzki with strong defense and getting 22 points from Theodoros Papaloukas.
Nowitzki, the tournament’s most valuable player, scored 23 points but was only one for eight from three-point range. The Dallas Maverick star had nine rebounds but four turnovers.
Earlier, France won the bronze medal, with San Antonio Spur guard Tony Parker scoring 25 points in a 98-68 victory over Spain. It was France’s first medal at the European Championship since a silver in 1959.
Greece won the title for the first time since 1987 at home and this time it felt as if it were playing at home as well.
Seven planeloads of Greek fans arrived Sunday to join those already in the Serbian capital, and Belgrade Arena was awash in the blue and white colors of Greece.
“It was a dream final for us, we showed a great team spirit and tonight I don’t think that any team in Europe could have beaten us,” said Papaloukas, whose team did not include any NBA players.
The game was decided in the third quarter when Greece made three straight three-pointers at the start of the period, two by Papaloukas.
When Papaloukas made another with 1:53 left in the third, Greece had a 17-point lead and the game was all but over.
*
Soccer
Sunderland won its first English Premier League game in 27 attempts, beating host Middlesbrough, 2-0.
Tommy Miller put Sunderland ahead in the second minute and Julio Arca had the other goal on a free kick after an hour. Sunderland was promoted after two seasons in the Football League Championship. Its previous Premier League win was Dec. 15, 2002.
Obafemi Martins’ sixth-minute goal earned host Inter Milan a hard-fought 1-0 win over Fiorentina, moving Inter into sole possession of second place in Serie A.
Inter is three points behind league-leader Juventus, which extended its perfect record with a 2-1 win at Parma on Saturday.
Inter plays Juventus next weekend.
Fernando Baiano and Borja Oubina scored early goals and host Celta Vigo downed Sevilla, 2-1, to regain first place in the Spanish league.
Celta’s victory was its fourth in its opening five games as the team continued its impressive form since gaining promotion at the end of last season.
In another game, Real Madrid rose to third place with Ronaldo scoring twice in a 3-0 win over promoted Alaves. Jose Maria “Guti” Gutierrez scored the other goal.
*
Tennis
Russia’s Maria Kirilenko won the China Open in Beijing for her first WTA singles title, defeating Germany’s Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-3, 6-4.
Kirilenko, ranked No. 45, had advanced to the final when top-ranked Maria Sharapova withdrew during their semifinal because of a chest injury. Kirilenko didn’t drop a set on her way to the title.
In the doubles final, Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain and Maria Vento-Kabchi of Venezuela defeated China’s Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, 6-2, 6-4.
Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic won her second title of the year, defeating Katarina Srebotnik, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, in Portoroz in the final of the Slovenia Open.
Srebotnik, of Slovenia, failed to challenge her in the first set, but found her form in the second. In the third set, Srebotnik started with a break, but Koukalova, ranked 41st, tied it at 2-2 and easily closed out the match.
Anastasia Myskina of Russia won her first title of the year, defeating Karolina Sprem of Croatia, 6-2, 6-2, in the final of the Sunfeast Open in Calcutta, India.
Top-seeded Myskina need only 59 minutes to win her 10th WTA Tour title.
In the doubles final, Myskina teamed with Elena Likhovtseva for a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Shikha Uberoi of India and Neha Uberoi of the United States.
Top-ranked Roger Federer will defend his title at the Thailand Open, which begins today.
The Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion will face Brazil’s Marcos Daniel in the first round on the fast indoor carpet at Impact Arena in Bangkok.
Wild-card Lleyton Hewitt, who lost to Federer in a U.S. Open semifinal, will make his first appearance in Thailand. Fifth-ranked Hewitt will play Czech Lukas Dlouhy.
Robby Ginepri, the third-seeded player, will meet Thailand’s Danai Udomchoke. Wild-card Mark Phillipoussis of Australia will play Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in the opening round.
*
Miscellany
Simon Bor won the Toronto Marathon in 2 hours 11 minutes 56 seconds to lead a Kenyan sweep. Nelson Lebo was second in 2:12:17 and Wesley Ngetich crossed the line in 2:14:30.
In the women’s event, Kenya’s Anastasia Ndereba won in 2:36:30, with England’s Lucy Hasell second at 2:38:08 and Toronto’s Tania Jones third.
Belgium’s Tom Boonen won the World Championship men’s elite road race in Madrid, edging his opponents in a frantic bunch finish.
Boonen, 24, won the 169.6-mile race in 6 hours 26 minutes 10 seconds. The silver medal went to Spain’s Alejandro Valverde, and France’s Anthony Geslin was third.
The first 23 riders were awarded the same time as Boonen in a race that closed the five-day championships.
