The Greek national team’s roster for its two upcoming FIBA World Cup qualifying matches—against Ukraine in Riga (Aug. 28, 7:00 p.m.) and against Spain at the T-Center (August 31, 7:00 p.m.).
Vassilis Spanoulis has called up 17 players for the training camp, which includes two games at the T-Center: Greece vs. Poland (Powered by Cosmote Telekom) on August 22 and Greece vs. Cyprus (Aegean Acropolis) on August 24.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Nick Calathes returns to the roster after a two-year absence, while Tyler Dorsey will be available. In contrast, Giannis Antetokounmpo is absent; regarding him, the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK) states the following:
“In recent years, when the NBA implemented additional safeguards for certain players, the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK) has, from the very beginning, met all of the NBA’s requirements to secure a release for Giannis Antetokounmpo so he could be ‘present’ with the national team. A more recent example is last summer, when he participated as usual in both the preseason training and, of course, the EuroBasket tournament. The costs were covered by funds available to the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK), and no government assistance was required. During this period, both the Hellenic Basketball Federation and the national team coach sought Yiannis’s assistance, however, this was not possible due to the particular timing coinciding with the start of a new chapter in his career. Under no circumstances was there any financial issue that served as a hindrance.”
As for Alexandros Samantourov, Neoklis Avdala, and Vangelis Zougris, who are attending NCAA colleges—although the athletes wanted to help the national team, the colleges’ academic officials did not grant them permission and, had they come, they would have been expelled from their programs and, consequently, from their college teams. It should be noted that these particular colleges, unlike some others, do not allow distance learning, which would have enabled the athletes to combine their participation on the national team with their college coursework.
Giorgos Limniatis has joined the national team’s coaching staff, while Diamantis Panagiotopoulos will not be “present” during this training and competition period. Training begins on Friday.
Name Date of Birth Height Position Team Games Points
Kostas Papanikolaou 07/31/1990 2.04 F Olympiacos 177 1181
Nick Calathes 02/07/1989 1.96 PG PAOK 149 1248
Giannoulis Larentzakis 09/22/1993 1.96 SG Olympiacos 98 665
Thanasis Antetokounmpo 07/18/1992 2.01 F – 77 375
Dinos Mitoglou 06/11/1996 2.10 C Panathinaikos 59 561
Panagiotis Kalaitzakis 01/01/1999 2.00 SG Panathinaikos 52,245
Kostas Antetokounmpo 11/20/1997 2.08 C Aris 41 218
Vasilis Toliopoulos 06/15/1996 1.87 SG Aris 40 353
Tyler Dorsey 02/18/1996 1.96 G Olympiacos 38 417
Dimitris Moraitis 02/03/199 1.94 PG Panathinaikos 36 150
Vasilis Charalambopoulos 01/06/01/1997 2.04 F Aris 27 114
Nikos Rogavopoulos 06/27/2001 2.03 SF Panathinaikos 23 170
Nasos Bazinas 10/18/2003 1.94 PG PAOK 7 8
Omiros Netzipoglou 11/18/2002 1.95 G Olympiacos 7 7
Dimitris Flionis 04/08/1997 1.88 PG AEK 5 12
Antonis Karagiannidis 04/13/2002 2.04 PF Olympiacos 5 12
Nikos Persidis 09/08/1995 2.00 PF PAOK 2 18
*Photo source: AP
