Greece beat the USA 101-95 to spring a big surprise in the semi-finals of the World Championships in Japan on Friday. Guard Vassilis Spanoulis starred for the Greeks with 22 points as the European champions overcame a 12-point deficit at Saitama Super Arena. Greece, with no current NBA players on their roster, danced in a circle on the court after their shock success. Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points and Dwayne Wade 19, but the joint captains were unable to save the favourites. The final buzzer sparked scenes of pandemonium as the Greeks celebrated as if they had won the gold medal. "I thank my players," said Greek coach Panagiotis Yannakis. "They did something incredible. We had faith and we never lost concentration." US coach Mike Krzyzewski was gracious in defeat. "Obviously the Greek team did an amazing job," he said. "It's not surprising. We knew that they had great heart and togetherness. They deserved it." The shock win also caused huge celebrations to break out all over Greece while the country's political leadership rushed to offer praise and congratulations. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis cut short scheduled meetings to watch the end of the game and expressed gratitude to the Greek team. "This historic victory has made Greeks all over the world proud," he said in a statement. "It has proven that when Greece can do anything when it believes in itself." Offices and services came to a standstill in Athens as Greeks watched the game and then left their workplace to celebrate. Workers at one downtown office threw hundreds of sheets of paper out of windows onto a celebrating crowd. Others waved national blue-and-white flags and sounded car horns as they celebrated the country's place in the final. Traffic information screens had flashed the final score, prompting some motorists to abandon their cars to join the crowds. The USA had looked on course for victory but suffered a second-quarter collapse, blowing a 12-point lead with six minutes left to let Greece back into the game after a slow start. "I congratulate Greece for coming back from 12 points down and going on a 14-0 run," said Anthony. "I take my hat off to them for playing so well and so hard down the stretch." The USA have suffered a string of failures and will now be forced to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. They were crowned World champions in 1994 and were also Olympic champions in 2000, but they missed out on a medal at the last Worlds in 2000 and could only win bronze at the Athens Games in 2004. Greece will now play either Olympic champions Argentina or Spain in Sunday's final.