In basketball there can be only one winner at the end of the game, but after tonight's game both Greece and Serbia left the court with the feeling as if they had won the game.

The official score-sheet say that Greece won 68-67 in overtime and got the ticket for the next round taking on a 2-0 record in Group A at Granada, while Serbia dropped to 0-2 and must beat Israel tomorrow to stay in the competition.

		Theodoros Papaloukas had eight big points for Greece.

But this game was about much more than basketball.

Serbia wanted to prove they can match up with the champs, and bring some pride back against the team which won the title on their home court two years ago.

They have certainly achieved that.

The pupils of coach Slavnic deserve big compliments for fighting against the stubborn champions who showed plenty of character themselves.

"The game was won by small details – one shot or one mistake," said Demos Dikoudis who connected on a big three-pointer with 40 seconds to go in the overtime to give Greece a 68-64 lead.

Serbia managed to cut the difference to one, and even had a chance to win with a desperate shot by Marko Jaric, but center Lazaros Papadopoulos was there in time to block the shot and secure the second win of Greece.

Greece feared the desperate shot for a reason.

At the end of regulation Milan Gurovic released the ball one step inside the half court on the right hand side of the court to send the game to overtime with the teams tied at 56-56.

Both teams struggled for 40 minutes and the extra time to get the ball in the hoop.

It wasn't a beautiful basketball game, but one that every fan would enjoy for its intensity.

"I don't care if we played good or bad. I always have only one target when I play and that's to win," said Theodoros Papaloukas after the game, to explain what Greece is all about.

While Greece shared the points between almost the entire team and entered the overtime with just one player in double digits, Serbia based their game on big man Darko Milicic, who stepped up and showed he can handle the toughest defense in Europe.

Milicic carried the team on his back, scoring 17 points, grabbing six rebounds and blocking three shots, but mostly was the center of his team's game.

He showed his big talent and team play.

Already after five minutes it was clear where this game was going.

Every basket took forever and big sweat from each team, as Greece led 7-3, and by the end of the first quarter 12-11.

No team allowed the other to make a run.

By half time the score was 31-31, just like Greece's game yesterday against Israel.

While Greece's biggest lead was up to seven, Serbia couldn't go further than a four points ahead.

Jaric, who finished as the top scorer for Serbia with 18 points, made it a one point game with nine seconds to play in regulation, but when Serbia tried to foul Dikoudis managed to find an empty spot on court and got the ball open in front of the basket.

Instead of running the time down he slammed the ball and started celebrating, but Gurovic had a different idea, and his unbelievable shot sent the teams to overtime.

"I didn't have a good game, but I owe my teammates a lot because they covered for me and left their heart on court," said Gurovic after the game.

Greece showed big character not falling apart after the big shock, and the teams continued to fight till the very last seconds.

Gurovic fouled out with 2:30 minutes to play in the extra period, but Jaric stepped up with four big points that kept Serbia close, before Dikoudis set it straight for Greece.

Serbia will face Israel tomorrow for a win-or-die game, while Greece will play Russia for the first spot in the group.

Serbia

Forward Milan Gurovic: "I didn't have a good game, but I owe my teammates a lot because they covered for me and left their heart on the court."

Foward Novica Velickovic: "We played a great game, but must recover in time, because we have a very important game tomorrow against Israel and we must win it."

Greece

Coach Panagiotis Yannakis: "I think was one game with character of countries. We fight each other. We worked hard until the end. This game was good promotion for basketball. We won because we stayed cool after Gurovic's shot went in.”

“Russia has good talent and play with big enthusiasm after two wins, but it's a long tournament and everyday is another day. Tomorrow we hope to promote also the basketball.”

Guard Theodoros Papaloukas: "I don't care if we played good or bad. I always have only one target when I play and that's to win. The important thing is that in every moment of the game we played together and didn't fell apart."

Serbia want to show they are still a basketball power that can contribute to the fight for gold in EuroBasket.

And what's a better way to prove your worth than to win a game against the defending champions Greeece?

Ironically they'll try to do it with their youth against the experience one of the title-holders.

Almost every player on the Greek roster carries experience from big games with the national team, his club or both, while Serbia speak openly about their lack of experience.

Last Time Out: Greece fought hard to open this tournament with a 76-66 win over Israel. They needed to get hot from three-point range in the second half to hold off their opponents after Israel put up a very tough fight for 37 minutes. Serbia trailed from the start in their 73-65 loss to Russia but came back from a double-digit deficit twice, which showed a lot of character, but not a winning mentality.

Head-to-Head: Three weeks ago, Serbia and Greece met in a friendly game. The final score was 93-62 for Serbia and it echoed across all of Europe. Friendly or not, Greece want to get revenge for that result, while Serbia want to prove it wasn't a fluke.

		Gurovic's scoring ability is key against champions Greece

Key Match-up: As expected Milan Gurovic was Serbia's top scorer in their opener with 24 points, but it was more than just points on the board. He was always a vital part of any attempted run Serbia made to try and get back in the game and, when he was off the court, Russia extended their lead. Gurovix though didn't shoot very well from the field (seven of 16) or even the free throw line (seven of 12), didn't get a single assist and failed to contribute much in any other field other than scoring. Serbia will rely on his scoring once again but could do with him shooting better and helping out in other categories.
Without him, the team will have an almost impossible task in trying to beat Greece and here's where Dimitrios Diamantidis steps in again as the best defender in Europe, going on one of the best scorers in Europe. Gurovic easily won the top scorer title in the ULEB Cup and Adriatic league last season. Keep an eye also on the defensive-minded Michalis Pelekanos - making his EuroBasket debut - who will come off the bench and try to contain or at least slow down Gurovic. Last season he was the runner-up in the Greek league in the steals category.

Statistics: Serbia shot only 32.5% for two-point range and 58.1% from the free-throw line against Russia. If they wish to even dare think about winning against the defensively much tougher Greece, they'll have to shoot much better. The title holders managed to beat Israel only thanks to a incredible three-point barrage in the second half. Two years ago, when they won gold, they made on average 25.4% of their attempts from long range. At last year's World championship in Japan, they were slightly better at 32.9%. Against Israel yesterday, they made 10 shots from beyond the arc  on a very respectable 43.5%. It's likely Greece won't shoot like that again until the end of the tournament. Against Serbia, they'll need to find a different way to win.

X-Factor: Serbia is probably the tallest team in EuroBasket and they need to show that and use that height advantage properly if they want to win. Darko Milicic can't afford another bad night like he had against Russia, but that's a key, not an X-Factor. Zoran Erceg contributed only three points and two rebounds in his EuroBasket debut, but tonight must give more than that. If he hits his shots from outside - something he improved on a lot during the last season with FMP - Darko will have much more space in the paint against the tough Greek defense. The latter are usually a high field goal percentage team and so every shot that misses the target need to be grabbed by the Serbians to prevent a potentially good second chance opportunity for their opponents. Erceg will have to improve that aspect as well. The same goes for the young Dragan Labovic, who can contribute in a similar way, but played only four minutes last night.

What It Means: Greece want to win this game to book a place in the next round before having even played Russia tomorrow so that they can turn their focus on the fight for first place. A loss could complicate things and send Greece to play the last game with a chance of getting knocket out. Serbia's defeat to Russia lost them some credibility and they will want to gain that respect back. Nothing can do that better than a win over the champs, but first of all Serbia just want to survive. They'll probably need to beat Israel on the last day anyhow to qualify, but going into that game with a 0-2 record could make it more complicated.