Greece hope to dampen 4th of July celebrations for USA

HERAKLION (2015 FIBA U19 World Championship) - Reigning champions United States are celebrating their Independence Day on Semi-Final day at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship while opponents and hosts Greece look to dampen the festivities and reach the U19 final for the first time since 2009.

Greece look to do what no other team has done in Heraklion - beat the USA, who come into the game with a 16-game winning streak at the U19 Worlds dating back to a Quarter-Final loss against Russia in 2011.

The United States have won their four games in Greece by an average of 28.8 points with Italy coming closest at 21 points in the Quarter-Finals.

While the team is loaded with talent, Harry Giles has stepped up his game with three straight double-doubles while fellow 1998-born 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship winner Jayson Tatum leads the team in scoring with 14.6 points a game.

Greece will have to figure out a way to deal with the American pressure defense by taking care of the ball. The Americans force 24.2 turnovers a game while Greece have committed 14.6 turnovers per game, with that number down to 12.5 if the Tunisia game - in which the Greeks turned the ball over 20 times in a total blowout - is removed.

Greece enter the Semis also undefeated after beating Spain in the Quarter-Finals.

The Greeks are appearing in their fourth U19 Worlds Semi-Finals and have finished first (1995), second (2009) and third (2003) - 1995 and 2003 as tournament hosts. 

The Greeks have great size in the post with Giorgios Papagiannis while Kostas Mitoglou's outside shooting ability could be an X-factor. A healthy and effective Vasilis Charalampopoulos would be a huge help for Greece while Greek-American guard Tyler Dorsey will have special motivation playing against the United States - and that on the 4th of July.

FIBA