Greece beat each single staff that was positioned in entrance of them throughout their qualification journey to the Paris Video games, which is able to begin on the finish of the month, and now Giannis Antekounmpo and his teammates are Olympians. The Bucks star led his nation along with his 23-point efficiency in opposition to Croatia on Sunday, in one of many 4 males’s basketball event finals to find out the ultimate spots.
Alongside along with his MVP exhibition, teammates Georgios Papagiannis and Nick Calathes dropped 19 and 14 respectively to earn Greece’s Olympic berth for the primary time since 2008. “It’s very good to qualify as a result of that’s step one,” Papagiannis shared. “On the Olympics, we’re trying to do one thing actually good there.”
Now that the majority nations have certified for the massive levels, the staff from the Mediterranean will be a part of the USA, France, Germany, Japan, Serbia, South Sudan, Canada and Australia. Whereas France certified because the host nation, the opposite seven squads made the listing based mostly on their performances in final summer season’s FIBA World Cup.
What a day for Greece! 🇬🇷
Giannis Antetokounmpo was in tears after main his nation to the Olympic males’s basketball competitors for the primary time since 2008.
(through @FIBA) pic.twitter.com/DwDcloANj0
— NBC Sports activities (@NBCSports) July 7, 2024
Giannis’s journey beginning with him scoring 32 factors in opposition to the Dominican Republic, then 13 in opposition to Slovenia, a well-deserved relaxation in opposition to Egypt, then profitable an intense semifinal conflict in opposition to Luka Doncic’s Slovenia, and at last this Sunday in opposition to Croatia.
“We knew that we had the chance to do one thing we hadn’t performed for years. We got here in, understanding we had 4 finals to play. I’m pleased about how the video games went,” stated the 29-year-old famous person after profitable the ultimate.
The Milwaukee participant couldn’t conceal his pleasure as soon as the sport was over. “We’re very hungry as a staff. The environment is unbelievable. Everyone’s having enjoyable with each other, everyone’s locked in, and know their roles. We’ve a particularly good chief. Coach Vasilis Spanoulis places that fireplace in our bellies and provides us one of the best tactic to compete,” he assured.
“Now, going into the Olympics, I feel one of the best athletes on the planet will compete there. We’ve nothing to lose. We simply must play Greek basketball and provides every part that we now have, regardless of who we play in opposition to. I consider we now have an unimaginable staff and that we will accomplish one thing particular,” Antetokounmpo shared.
The NBA star expressed his admiration for his coach Vasilis Spanoulis, who occurs to be his idol since he was rising up in Greece
Together with his coach sitting subsequent to him throughout the postgame interviews, Giannis was requested what he has discovered from Vasilis Spanoulis, who’s a EuroLeague legend that will likely be returning to the Olympics as a tactician this time, as an alternative as a participant in 2008.
The Bucks star began by making a giant distinction. “All of the coaches I’ve had within the nationwide staff had been unimaginable as coaches and minds and I respect them very a lot,” he began out. “However coach Spanoulis is a winner and you may’t educate that. It’s both you’re a winner otherwise you’re not. He desires to win greater than us. You need to have seen him in as we speak’s shootaround. He was actually operating up and down. You would have given him a jersey and he might have performed the sport.”
Greece has now earned a spot in Group A of the Olympic Video games in Paris, and can face Australia, Canada and both Spain of Bahamas within the group stage of the competitors.
Antetokounmpo feels assured with Spanoulis on his aspect. “I simply love that I’ve any individual like him subsequent to me and he is aware of I do no matter I can to win,” the 29-year-old assured. “I don’t bullshit, I don’t cheat the sport. His identification goes by way of the entire staff. Now, we now have 12 gamers like that and after we go to the courtroom, we play with that profitable mentality.”
