NANJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was in immense form to bring fire and energy to his national team, helping Greece ease past Montenegro 85-60 here on Sunday to start their basketball World Cup journey as one of the title favorites.

Antetokounmpo set the tone for the whole match and battered the opponents with his dunks to notch 10 points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes. His teammate Georgios Printez contributed a match-leading 16 points. Nikola Vucevic of Montenegro racked up 12 points.

The Milwaukee Bucks star made a ruthless start with a huge slam dunk that lit up the packed stadium in the first quarter. Vucevic, center of Orlando Magic, took the advantage of Greece's several turnovers to successfully keep Montenegro in the game.

Antetokounmpo, however, was an unstoppable force for Greece, keeping the stadium boiling with slam dunks and showing his overwhelming talent to lead his team shooting over 70 percent. Greece ended the first half with a 42-16 lead.

With no free throws in the first half, Montenegro seemed shell-shocked to attack in the paint. Vucevic battled hard with his single power scoring all the six points at 4:14 in the second quarter, but his teammates could not regroup and make enough shots even in the third quarter to offer boost.

Antetokounmpo was trapped into foul trouble but the rest lineup also made deciding contributions with the team finishing with four players in double figures.

Greece is scheduled to play against Brazil on Tuesday, with Antetokounmpo confronting more current and former NBA players. Enditem

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