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The final day of the FIBA World Cup group stage sees a Giannis-less Greece take on New Zealand in a direct battle for second place and the right to progress through to the next phase. Both teams beat Jordan and lost to the USA. Now in a direct winner-takes-it-al duel, they will be trying to progress. This is our preview of the game, along with some of our favourite betting tips for this duel.
- Date & Time: Wednesday, August 30, 2023, 1:40 p.m. GMT
- Venue: Mall of Asia Arena – Pasay, Philippines
Greece vs New Zealand basketball predictions
Contents
While the only question ahead of this duel is can the older Antentokoumpo, Thanasis, find a way to inspire a major Greek upset we don’t think this is possible. The Americans are young and inexperienced but they should be able to win comfortably. So, let’s take a closer look at our Greece vs New Zealand basketball predictions:
Prediction 1: Yanni Wetzell over 2.5 rebounds @ 1/2 (1.50)
Our first pick for this match backs New Zealand’s only player from a European team Yanni Wetzell to grab at least 3 rebounds. Wetzell is a gifted rebounder and he averaged 5.4 boards per game for Alba Berlin last season. He was outplayed in the post vs the USA and had only 1 rebound but then he bounced back strong with 6 boards vs Jordan. There is no reason why he shouldn’t grab at least 3 more rebounds.
Prediction 2: Georgios Papagiannis over 10.5 points @ 8/15 (1.53)
Greece’s main scoring so far has come from their small forward Georgios Papagiannis. He had only 8 points in the first game vs Jordan simply because Greece decided things early and the regulars were taken off for most of the second half.
In the game vs the USA Papagiannis scored 17 points to lead all scorers from both teams. Now, with Greece needing the win to progress Papagiannis should be aggressive again and shouldn’t have problems scoring 11 points or more.
Greece vs New Zealand preview – Can the Tall Blacks cause an upset?
Now let’s take a closer look at the latest Greece vs New Zealand team news ahead of their meeting in Group C at the FIBA World Cup:
Greece news, injuries, and starting lineups
Without shining too much Greece’s tenacity was enough to see them beat Jordan 92-71. It was the depth of the team that impressed most in this match with 3 of the 4 players in double digits in this match coming off the bench. The Greek bench ended contributing 49 of the 92 points and this was the most of any bench from the first round of games.
Despite missing their big star Giannis the Greeks still play with great dedication led by Ginnais’ older brother Thanasis Antetokoumpo.
Even that commitment wasn’t enough against Team USA though and in their second match Greece lost 81-109. The bright display of Papagiannis gave Greece some courage though. Papagiannis led all scorers in the game with 17 points on 8 of 13 shooting.

Greece injury report:
- N/A
Greece starting lineup:
G. Papagianotis, K. Papanikolaus, M. Lountzis, T. Antetokumpo, T. Walkup
New Zealand news, injuries, and starting lineups
With Steven Adams injured and out, there are no NBA players in this New Zealand team. In fact, only one player even plays in Europe, with Yanni Wetzell turning up for Alba Berlin.
Wetzell was the main reason why New Zealand beat Jordan after overtime in the last round as he made 2 vital steals in the dying seconds of regulation. In the end, the Tall Blacks beat Jordan 95-87 (10-2 in overtime) and with 1 win and 1 defeat, they can still qualify.
New Zealand have been playing with a lot of heart in their first 2 matches. They also have some very good shooters. The Kiwis averaged the impressive 52.0% from distance vs Jordan – 13 out of 25 threes were made. So if a few of them get hot from beyond the arc New Zealand could be dancing the Haka in the next phase too.

New Zealand injury report:
- Steven Adams (C) – injured, misses the entire tournament
New Zealand starting lineup:
S. Ili, I. Le’afa, R. Te Rangi, F. Delany, Y. Wetzell
Where to watch Greece vs New Zealand on TV/live stream
If you live in the UK, you can watch all FIBA World Cup matches via FIBA’s streaming service Courtside 1891. Meanwhile, in the USA, the World Cup will be shown on ESPN2 and ESPN+. New Zealand fans can watch their team on TVNZ Duke and TVNZ +.
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