Euroballer blames racism, FIBA, NBA, and Persians as Greece goes down.

Greece needed a wild card invitation to compete in Spain, but it had appeared to re-establish its credentials as a perennial medal contender by winning all five games to claim first place in its group to reach this first knockout round.

But Serbia led throughout except when Greece managed to edge ahead by a point late in the second quarter, and the Greeks imploded in the fourth period, falling behind by as much as 20.

Milwaukee Bucks center Miroslav Raduljica added 16 points for the Serbs, while Milos Teodosic scored 13 more.

Guard Nick Calathes paced Greece with 14 points.

The first half between the two traditional European powers did not disappoint.

Both moved the ball with precision and shot high percentages of almost 60 percent from 2-point range in an impressive 20 minutes of basketball.

After drawing level several times, Nikos Zsis hit a 3-pointer to put Greece ahead for the first and only time with 1:02 left in the second period.

Serbia reclaimed the initiative immediately when Raduljica scored inside and Nikola Kalinic drove baseline to slam the ball and pick up a foul, letting him convert the 3-point play for a 46-42 lead at halftime.

Serbia then dominated the second half, turning what had been an evenly matched contest into a blowout.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/lithuania-beats-zealand-wcup-quarters-160724062–nba.html;_ylt=A0LEVz_V1AxUvhUA7Ipx.9w4;_ylu=X3oDMTE0ZW9mMDczBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA01PVVMyMDJfMQ–?.tsrc=bell