ATHENS (Greece) - Back in 2008, Vassilis Spanoulis was a part of the Greek team which finished fifth at the Olympics. Now, he's calling the plays from the bench, trying to put Greece on the Olympic map once again.
The Olympic Qualifying Tournament will be played at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus, Greece from July 2 to July 7. Greece are located in Group B, alongside the Dominican Republic and Egypt, while Slovenia, New Zealand and Croatia are in Group A at this venue.
The Roster
The hosts of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament have put together a roster which would fill arenas even outside of their homeland. Having missed the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 because of an injury, Giannis Antetokounmpo is now back in the lineup, ready to rock the highlights like he did back at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022.
It looked to be the summer of comebacks as Nick Calathes also made it back to the camp, and Kostas Sloukas was also on the initial list. However, after an amazing first season with Panathinaikos, Sloukas suffered a bone bruise in his right knee, keeping him out of the combinations for this tournament.
Coach Spanoulis will now have to find a replacement for the 34-year-old superstar, who just led Panathinaikos to the Greek League championship with 29 points in Game 5 of the Finals against his former team and arch rivals Olympiacos.
Even without Sloukas, this roster is full of experience, no matter which 12 players reach the final list. Perfect for a short and tense tournament such as the OQTs, and even better in case there is a need for a short preparation camp before the Olympics in France. A lot of these players have been together since they were youngsters, they will click together in no time on the court.
The Question
It may sound weird, but the question is: How good is Giannis Antetokounmpo right now?
While being one of the most dominant forces in history of international basketball, the Greek Freak has not played a competitive game since early April in the NBA. Nearly three months later, he will have the weight of the nation on his shoulders, trying to book that elusive ticket to Lille and Paris.
The Hope
Is there any other team that could put together so many winners at once? We all know about Giannis's success in the NBA, plus the individual and team awards claimed by guys like Calathes, Kostas Papanikolaou, Dinos Mitoglou, Georgios Papagiannis, Thomas Walkup and others, it feels like these guys got used to winning all the time.
Meanwhile, they've got a winning coach on the sidelines, too. Vassilis Spanoulis took Peristeri bwin to a historical first Basketball Champions League Final Four, and after such an impressive run, he was named the Best Coach of the Season in that competition.
Winners all over the place, no wonder they are hoping for the best.
The Fear
Hosting the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament was not an advantage back in 2021. All four hosts, Croatia, Serbia, Lithuania and Canada, failed to reach the Olympics, clearly not being able to cope with the pressures of being the home court favorites.
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