The Greece’s battle with Finland for the bronze medal at EuroBasket 2025: Greece is halfwa

Source: ProtoThema English

The dream of a fourth EuroBasket final ended abruptly for the Greek National Team, as Turkey proved to be an insurmountable obstacle in Friday’s semifinal. But today, we have the chance to win our 5th medal in the competition – and the first since 2009!

With two golds (1987, 2005), one silver (1989), and one bronze (2009), Vassilis Spanoulis and his players are called upon to overcome the disappointment of the lost battle against Turkey and close their EuroBasket 2025 campaign in the best possible way.

“We are in the medal zone after 16 years. We shouldn’t be miserable, but proud. We have a huge challenge ahead of us, the biggest game for me in the last 16 years. To bring the medal to our country, to leave it in history. We are not a country that often wins medals. In the last 35–38 years we’ve only won five. And now that we are in a position to claim one again, there’s no point in talking about disaster,” said the National Coach yesterday, and added meaningfully:
“We have one game ahead of us. It’s like a final, not a ‘small final.’ The medal comes after 16 years, and we don’t know when the opportunity will come again. We must not let it slip away.”

Of course, the opponent’s desire is just as strong, with Finland being the tournament’s big surprise, reaching the final four for the first time and aiming for its first-ever medal in the competition. Markkanen and his teammates are a very athletic team, top in three-pointers per game, with impressive transition speed from defense to offense, and tremendous energy on offensive rebounds — but they lack the experience of our National Team.

Greece and Finland have faced each other 23 times at Men’s level, with Greece holding 14 wins and 9 losses. In detail:

• 03/05/1961 Greece–Finland 71–77 (EuroBasket)
• 07/06/1964 Greece–Finland 67–73 (Olympic Qualifier)
• 31/05/1968 Greece–Finland 79–85 (Olympic Qualifier)
• 22/05/1969 Greece–Finland 68–62 (EuroBasket Qualifier)
• 30/01/1971 Greece–Finland 72–77 (International Tournament)
• 17/08/1972 Greece–Finland 66–77 (Olympic Qualifier)
• 10/05/1973 Greece–Finland 112–83 (EuroBasket Qualifier)
• 12/04/1977 Greece–Finland 85–72 (International Tournament)
• 15/04/1977 Greece–Finland 98–88 (International Tournament)
• 18/05/1977 Finland–Greece 79–85 (EuroBasket Qualifier)
• 30/12/1978 Greece–Finland 82–78 (Friendly)
• 20/05/1979 Greece–Finland 92–62 (EuroBasket Qualifier)
• 04/01/1981 Greece–Finland 101–92 (International Tournament)
• 03/05/1981 Greece–Finland 101–86 (EuroBasket Qualifier)
• 04/01/1982 Greece–Finland 105–82 (International Tournament)
• 27/05/1982 Greece–Finland 96–93 (EuroBasket Qualifier)
• 04/09/1984 Greece–Finland 86–108 (International Tournament)
• 09/09/1984 Finland–Greece 78–73 (EuroBasket Qualifier)
• 26/05/1995 Greece–Finland 85–72 (Friendly)
• 27/05/1995 Greece–Finland 90–82 (Friendly)
• 01/09/2011 Greece–Finland 81–61 (EuroBasket)
• 09/09/2013 Greece–Finland 77–86 (EuroBasket)
• 05/09/2017 Greece–Finland 77–89 (EuroBasket)

Greek and Finnish fans have already taken their places in the stands, with the atmosphere heating up.

The original article: https://en.protothema.gr/2025/09/14/the-greek-national-basketball-teams-battle-with-finland-for-the-bronze-medal-at-eurobasket-2025/ belongs to ProtoThema English .