The following year, Greece faced their biggest challenge, as the country hosted the EuroBasket 1987 with the national team entering the tournament with a formidable line-up. Qualified from the preliminary round, they eliminated Italy and Yugoslavia, both among the favorites to win the tournament, in the quarter-finals and the semi-finals respectively. In the final, Greece faced the defending champions and heavily favored Soviet Union. In front of 17,000 Greek fans at the Peace and Friendship Stadium, the hosts won the gold medal after a thrilling win 103–101 over the Soviets, with Nikos Galis scoring 40 points. It was the first time that the Greek national team won a major tournament in any sport, thus basketball was made the national team sport overnight and the national team was to be considered the official cherished of the Greek nation.