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A nightmare scenario developed for Greece at the World Basketball Championship on Thursday as its controversial defeat to Russia did not secure a game against France in the next round but world champions Spain.
Greece lost 73-69 to Russia in a game that both sides appeared reluctant to win as a victory would secure second place in Group C for the winner and therefore a likely second round match against Spain in Group D.
Greece's performance was so poor that Russia coach David Blatt accused Jonas Kazlauskas's men of losing the game on purpose. The Lithuanian rejected the claim.
Had it been Greece's plan to finish third, so it could avoid Spain and set up a game against France, then the scheme failed catastrophically. The French suffered a shock 82-70 defeat to New Zealand, which means they have finished fourth in Group D and will play Turkey.
Greece, instead, will face Spain in the next round, while Russia will be up against New Zealand - a game that Kazlauskas and his men would have loved to have played instead.
The national volleyball team is getting ready for the all-important European Championship play-off games with Turkey on September 5 and 12, with coach Gordon Mayforth acknowledging on Wednesday that the first game in Ankara will be a tough one.
"We have already discussed with the guys that we will be 12 players against 7,000 fans, but they will not have any problems. I have realised due to the history of the two countries that they will be 12 Greeks! This will certainly be a difficult court full of fans," said the American manager in a press conference in Athens.
He saw his players suffer two defeats and get a draw in three friendly games with Egypt in Athens last week in quite disappointing performances, but he maintains his optimism.
"Yesterday's [i.e. August 31] was the best training session we had in all of August. The players are beginning to get into the process of these games and you can see that in their eyes.
"Our preparation is coming to its end and is getting better every day, particularly after the friendlies with Egypt.
"We are ready to qualify. We have two days left for some fine-tuning, but everything is ok," Mayforth stated.
The winner of the home-and-away play-offs advances to next year's European Championship finals in Austria and the Czech Republic.
"We will be 100 percent ready on Sunday to play for qualification, which we all need, first of all us the athletes, the federation and Greek volleyball," said Greece captain Ilias Lappas.
"This is a major competition that will go a long way towards helping volleyball and certainly the Greek team will have to be present," he added.
The 12 players to travel to Ankara for the first leg are Dimitris Tzourits, Apostolos Armenakis, Giorgos Petreas, Thanos Terzis, Giorgos Stephanou, Costas Prousalis, Theoklitos Karipidis, Andreas Andreadis, Gerasimos Kanellos, Ilias Lappas, Andreas Frangos and Achilleas Papadimitriou.
Sports TV - Sport on TV - Friday-Monday, September 3-6
Football - Panathinaikos 2010-2011 - First team roster
Basketball - Loss to Russia earns Greece 3rd spot - Russians win 73-69 in Ankara
Basketball - Ivory Coast become Greece's punchbag - National team win by 37 points
Basketball - Greece well beaten by Turkey - Eleven-point defeat after disappointing performance
Football - PAO sign Plessis from Liverpool - Young defensive midfielder joins for three years
Football - AEK snap up Patsatzoglou on free - Nasuti also in to bolster defence
Sports TV - Sport on TV - Monday-Thursday, August 30-September 2
Football - AEK will not appeal Kerkyra result - Athens side decide against taking action
Football - USA 1994: Greece's American dream turns into nightmare - Greece’s only other entry to the World Cup finals was disastrous; read 793 times
Football - SIG's World Cup 2010 Blog - SIG writers share their daily thoughs; read 756 times
Football - SIG's World Cup 2010 Blog - SIG writers share their daily thoughts; read 682 times
Football - Moras doubtful for Saturday's opener - He has a 50 percent chance to play; read 552 times
Rugby - Greece prepare for Paphos 7s - Coach Niall Doherty says Greece can qualify for 2016 Olympics; read 515 times
Football - Belgian Mirallas to join Reds on loan - Striker comes to Olympiakos for a year; read 496 times
Football - Out of Africa... with heads held high - Graham Wood looks back on Greece's campaign; read 469 times
Football - The man who would be king - Nick Malkoutzis looks at the career of Fernando Santos; read 464 times
Football - 'Return home now' says Greek press - Universal criticism of Rehhagel by media; read 402 times
|  Graham Wood casts his eye over Greece's 2010 World Cup campaign. Was it a success or failure? |  Fernando Santos is the new Greece coach. Nick Malkoutzis looks at why he may be just the man to follow Otto Rehhagel. |
Police question Pakistan's Amir Pakistan bowler Mohammad Amir is being questioned at a north London police station over allegations of corruption, while the ICC says that the players implicated have a disciplinary case to answer.
England pressure inspires Capello England coach Fabio Capello says he hopes the pressure of expectation over the team's Euro 2012 qualifier with Bulgaria will bring out the best in him.
Farah out of Commonwealth Games Double European champion Mo Farah announces his withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games because of fatigue.
Murray ready for Jamaica's Brown Britain's Andy Murray takes on Dustin Brown of Jamaica in the second round of the US Open, with the threat of Hurricane Earl hanging over New York.
Beckham eyes 11 September return Former England captain David Beckham hopes to play for the LA Galaxy against Columbus Crew on 11 September.
McCulloch and Naismith in for Scots Lee McCulloch and Steven Naismith are among six Rangers players in the Scotland team to face Lithuania on Friday.
Wales hopeful on Morgan fitness Wales boss John Toshack hopes defender Craig Morgan will shrug off a foot injury to be available for Friday's Euro 2012 qualifying opener in Montenegro.
Craigan set to captain N Ireland Stephen Craigan is set to captain Northern Ireland in the Euro 2012 qualifying opener against Slovenia in Maribor.
Federer progresses as seeds fall Roger Federer overcomes windy conditions to beat Andreas Beck and reach the US Open third round, but seeds Nikolay Davydenko and Maran Cilic crash out.
Wozniacki through after whitewash Top seed Caroline Wozniacki cruises into the third round of the US Open with a blistering 6-0 6-0 win over Chinese Taipei's Kai-Chen Changon.
Jones at ease amid Delhi chaos Australia's triple Olympic champion Leisel Jones says she has no security or health concerns about competing at next month's New Delhi Commonwealth Games.
No September excuses, says Swan Brownlow Medal favourite Dane Swan is back to full fitness and has set himself for a big finals campaign.
Socceroos focus brings Djite home While most Australian players still see the path to Socceroos selection paved smoother overseas, Bruce Djite rates his A-League return as crucial to his international dreams.
Suspended 'fixers' facing life bans Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and opening bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif face possible life bans after they were charged under the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption code.
Federer, Djokovic stroll as Davydenko dumped Roger Federer says he is off to the perfect start at the US Open after cruising into the third round with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Germany's 104th-ranked Andreas Beck.
Freo stand by tough Hasleby call Fremantle has defended its decision to drop retiring veteran Paul Hasleby for Saturday's elimination final against the Hawks at Subiaco Oval.
Wozniacki, Sharapova unleash Open warnings Top seed Caroline Wozniacki has powered her way into the third round of the US Open, handing out a 6-0, 6-0 whitewash to Taiwan's Chang Kai-Chen.
'Shattered' Onions out of Ashes Graham Onions says he is shattered after his slim hopes of featuring in England's defence of the Ashes in Australia later this year were crushed due to injury.
Angry Players Are Seeing Holes in the Electronic Judging System Hawk-Eye, the judging system, covers the bouncing ball, but humans remain the arbiters of foot faults.
Inspired by Oudin, and Emulating Her Beatrice Capra, an 18-year-old American who was inspired by Melanie Oudin’s run to the quarterfinals last year, won, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, in the second round.
Yankees 5, Athletics 0: Sabathia Is King of the Hill in the Bronx C. C. Sabathia has not lost in 21 straight starts at Yankee Stadium, going 16-0 with a 2.05 earned run average.
Mets’ Catcher of the Future Has Memories of Wrigley Mets catcher Josh Thole returns to Wrigley Field for the first time since he and his brother, Jeremy, secured an autograph from Mark McGwire in 1998.
With Jocketty at Controls, Red Machine Being Rebuilt Moving from St. Louis to Cincinnati, the veteran baseball executive Walt Jocketty has the Reds on the verge of the playoffs for the first time in years.
As Colleges Compete, Money Flows to All Sports The Directors’ Cup, a little-known but prized honor, has set off a competition to have the best broad-based sports program.
Giants 20, Patriots 17: Giants Put Focus on Backup to Manning After two sharp series from Eli Manning and the offense, Rhett Bomar did not provide much of a spark, but he settled down after halftime.
United States 92, Tunisia 57: Not a Pretty Picture as U.S. Crushes Another Opponent Eric Gordon scored 21 points to lead the United States past Tunisia, which will next play Angola at the world basketball championships.
Mets 4, Braves 2: Mets Win, But Santana Is Injured The Mets’ season, already disjointed and in disarray because of injuries to key players, took another sour turn when starter Johan Santana left with a strained chest muscle.
After Surprising Run of Victories, Lisa’s Booby Trap Finishes Last Unwanted by her breeder and two other owners before being purchased for $2,000, the underdog horse faltered at Saratoga.
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