Both Greece and Spain failed to open their respective campaigns in the 2024 Paris Olympics on the right foot, as they lost to Canada and Australia, respectively. Another loss would severely hurt the chances of either Greece or Spain to advance to the next round, so expect an all-out war between these two European superpowers this Tuesday. Will Giannis Antetokounmpo and company get in the win column finally? Or, will the Spaniards pull off a victory?

Catch this game live on Tuesday, July 30, 2024 at 5 pm, Manila time

Away: Spain (0-1 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

• Lorenzo Brown
• Xabi Lopez-Arostegui 
• Alex Abrines 
• Santi Aldama 
• Willy Hernangomez 

Spain fell flat on their faces in their kickoff game in Paris, as they suffered a 92-80 loss to Australia last Saturday. The Spaniards got their looks on offense and even outshot the Boomers, 69-67. However, Spain shot just 39.1 percent from the field to 50.7 percent by Australia. Spain head coach Sergio Scariolo also pointed out Australia’s 3-point shooting (12/37) as a key reason for his team’s downfall. With that said, the Spaniards will have to hope that their next opponent will not be as hot from deep.

For what it’s worth, Greece shot atrociously from behind the arc in their Olympic opener, going just 9/32 (28.1 3FG%) last Saturday against Canada. The Spanish side was led in the Australia game by Santi Aldama, who had 27 points on the strength of a 6/8 shooting from range, while Willy Hernangomez provided 14 points. Sergio Lull had 17 points off the bench for Spain, who are hoping to connect better from the field this Tuesday.

Home: Greece (0-1 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

• Thomas Walkup 
• Nick Calathes 
• Kostas Papanikolaou 
• Giannis Antetokounmpo 
• Georgios Papagiannis 

As mentioned, Greece got whopped by a stacked Canadian squad over the weekend, 86-79. But thanks to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece were able to keep it close. The Milwaukee Bucks superstar exploded for 34 points in his Olympics debut, as he shot 11/17 from the field and 12/15 from the free-throw line. He could continue his high-scoring ways against Spain, who even struggled to contain Australia’s Jack Landale (20 points, nine rebounds, five assists). 

Antetokounmpo is a different beast and could single-handedly carve up Spain’s defense. But the challenge for Greece is to find more support for The Greek Freak. In the Canada game, only one other Greece player scored in double figures, with Kostas Papanikolaou popping off for 17 points. Perhaps the likes of Thomas Walkup and Giannoulis Larentzakis will start making waves in the Olympics this Tuesday after combining for just eight points on a horrid 2/14 shooting against Canada.

Picks

Spread: Greece (-4.5)

Over/Under: Over (162.5)