Greece's national water polo team is through to the World Cup semifinals after a 14-13 thriller against Montenegro in Sydney on Thursday, surviving a dramatic final seconds scare to book their spot in the last four.
The Greeks came out flying, scoring 8 goals in the first 9.5 minutes to lead 8-3 and looked set for a comfortable win. Then the offense went cold for over 10 minutes, and Montenegro clawed their way back to 11-10, turning what had been a dominant performance into a nervy, high-stakes fight to the finish.
Semir Spahic scored two critical goals in the closing stages, and goalkeeper Panagiotis Tzortzatos made a string of impressive saves in the final period to keep Greece ahead. The last seconds were almost unbearable: with the score at 14-13 and Greece playing a man short, Montenegro attacked six-on-five, but Vasilie Radovic's final shot at the buzzer sailed wide.
Greece's top scorer was Konstantinos Argyropoulos with 4 goals, while Spahic and Gkiouvetsis added 2 each. The team is coached by Thodoris Vlachos.
The Greeks now face Italy on Saturday, July 25 at 13:15 local Sydney time in the semifinal. Italy advanced comfortably, beating Georgia 18-12.
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