The debut of Antetokounmpo, Greece’s great asset in the Spanish group

Sixteen years later, Greece will once again compete in the Olympic Games, and will do so after passing the Pre-Olympic phase in front of its home crowd in Piraeus.

To go back to the last Olympic experience of the Greek team, we have to go back to the 2008 Beijing Games, when Greece finished in fifth place with a block made up of historical figures of national basketball like Theodoros. PapaloukasDimitris DiamantidisGeorge PrintezisSophocles Schortsianitis or Vassilis Espanoulis. Of all of them, the last one was the one who managed to restore hope to the Hellenic nation.

And when the boots are on, Espanoulis He decided to go the path of banks. First, took the reins of the Italian Periseri, and in 2023 to lead the national team after the departure of Dimitris Itoudis after the World Cup.

A year later, Spanoulis was on the bench and had an NBA MVP count Giannis Antetokounmpo As the greatest reference team, the Hellenic team has returned to the Games. They will do so, however, in a group that promises strong emotions and high-voltage matches.

Giannis, the undisputed leader

The superstar of Milwaukee Bucks He will once again wear his country’s jersey in an international competition after missing the final 2023 World Cup due to injury. In the Pre-Olympic, Giannis Antetokounmpo He has made it clear that he is one of the most determined players on the planet and, in his first Olympics, he has a unique opportunity to continue to demonstrate this in the so-called ‘group of death’. Any remote chance of a medal for the Greeks in Paris is in their hands.

After defeating Slovenia and Croatia in the semifinals and final of the pre-Games phase, Greece arrived at an optimal moment of form and gave a good image at a competitive level, something Antetokounmpo already highlighted after being certified the pass to Paris.

“Everyone is happy playing with the others, everyone is involved and knows what their role is. We have a good leader. Spanoulis is committed to us and gives us the best tools to compete”Giannis recognized after the Pre-Olympic. “He’s a winner and that can’t be taught. […] “His identity runs through the whole team.”said the Bucks man.

Besides Giannis, Greece will have players experienced in European basketball like the tireless Nick Caathesthe naturalized Thomas WalkupKostas MitoglouGeorge Papagiannis or Costas Papanikolaou, among others. All of them, players with enough experience in Europe to compete on a stage as important as the Games.

The final squad, with a notable loss

This week, Spanoulis provided the final list of those called up for Paris. The call for twelve players for the Olympic Games is as follows:

• Thomas Walkup (guard; Olympiacos)
• Giannulis Larentzakis (guard; Olympiacos)
• Dimitris Moraitis (point guard; Panathinaikos)
• Vasileios Toliopoulos (base; Aris)
• Nick Caathes (point guard; AS Monaco)
• Panagiotis Kalaitzakis (forward; Panathinaikos)
• Giorgios Papagiannis (centre; Panathinaikos)
• Vasilis Charalampopoulos (forward; Turk Telekom)
• Kostas Papanikolaou (forward; Olympiacos)
• Nikos Chougaz (center; Peristeri)
• Giannis Antetokounmpo (power forward; Milwaukee Bucks)
• Konstantinos Mitoglou (power forward; Panathinaikos)

The coach can’t even count on Kostas SloukasThanasis by Kostas Antetokounmpo, all of them due to injury. In addition, we should also highlight the loss of Tyler Dorseyas the nationalized player selected for the Games was Thomas Walkup.

The Game schedule

• July 27th: Greece vs Canada (9:00 pm)
• July 30: Greece vs Spain (11:00 am)
• August 2nd: Greece vs Australia (1:30 pm)