VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's Eurovision) - There has never been a game at the FIBA Basketball World Cup quite like it, Greece's 101-95 victory over the United States in 2006.

Greek fans poured into the streets of Athens after the final buzzer to celebrate and sports fans everywhere were buzzing.

Greece have had some famous sporting results over the years, including their shock UEFA Euro 2004 Final win over hosts Portugal in football, but can anything top their triumph over the USA in Saitama, Japan?

As part of the FIBA Classic Game series, the game will be streamed on Thursday, March 26 at 19:00 GMT. You can relive the historic showdown on official FIBA social media channels on YouTube and Facebook.

Remember, this was an American team that had LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul, among others.

The USA, led by coach Mike Krzyzewski, did not play their best that day, especially on the defensive end, and ended up for a third straight World Cup off the top of the podium.

Greece coach Panagiotis Giannakis had his finest hour with the win over LeBron James and the USA

But what if the USA had not had a diabolical performance at the free-throw line, where they ultimately hit just 58 percent (20 of 34) of their attempts?

What if they had not come unglued late in the first half and gone from leading 35-30 to trailing 45-41?

Had the Americans won that game, would they have prevailed in the Final against Spain, a team they upset two years before in the Quarter-Finals of the Athens Olympics?

Had LeBron and Co won that world title in 2006, would they have had the hunger that their “Redeem Team” needed two years later at the Beijing Games, especially to beat Spain in a thrilling Olympic Final, 118-107?

Is there, or should there be a "yet to win a world title" asterisk beside the names of James and Wade, whose career achievements include NBA crowns and Olympic gold medals?

Looking back at that famous Greece v USA confrontation, we remember that both teams entered the clash with full heads of steam.

Greece were the FIBA EuroBasket winners the year before and had cut down everything in their path to Saitama, including in Hamamatsu where they beat Turkey, Lithuania, Australia, Brazil and Qatar in a "Group of Death".

Theo Papaloukas played a starring role in the Greek drama

The USA had won in Sapporo over Puerto Rico, Slovenia, China, Italy and Senegal.

Krzyzewski's team was, many believed, the team to beat in Japan. Greece had snatched a late 72-69 victory over Australia in Group C while the Americans demolished the Aussies in the Round of 16, 113-73.

Masterful that afternoon was the Greece playmaker, Theo Papaloukas, whose eight points were accompanied by a whopping 12 assists! Timely were the shots made by Vassilis Spanoulis, who finished with a team-high 22 points for the Greeks. 

Sofoklis Schortsanitis turned in one of the best efforts of his Greece career against the USA

And unstoppable for Greece was Sofoklis Schortsanitis, who was especially good late in the second quarter when his team went from trailing to leading. He either beat the USA on the pick-and-roll, caught passes in traffic in the lane and scored or hustled down the court ahead of the Americans on fast-breaks. Baby Shaq, as he was known, had 14 points.

The USA had the talent although maybe, upon reflection, it was a little young and inexperienced and that left it vulnerable against a savvy Greece, one that was led by one of the country’s legendary player-turned-coach, Panagiotis Giannakis. As for those missed opportunities at the free-throw line for the USA, remember the Greeks weren't great in that aspect, either. They finished 23 of 33 (69.7 percent).

While this game did not go down to a last-second shot, and even while Greece opened up a 67-53 lead by midway through the third quarter, the game is one of the most talked about in hoops history. It definitely put a charge into that World Cup and national team basketball.

Jeff Taylor
FIBA

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