By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Milan, Italy – After the triumph against Estonia and with less than 24 hours to prepare, Italy has to face the biggest challenge of the Eurobasket Group phase. In front of their audience, the hosts of Group C are facing Greece and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
While the Greeks have their own share of woes, starting the tournament with both their players out against Croatia, there’s also Giannis Antetokounmpo dominating and deciding the outcome in a spectacular manner with a dunk, two blocks, and a goal foul.
So how do you stop him? “We will try everything, he is a great player and it will be an honor to play against him and to try to make his life difficult”, said a smiling Gigi Datome in the mixed zone after Friday’s game with the Greek national television.
“Greece is a great team. They have a lot of good players like Sloukas, Papanikolaou, Papapetrou, and Dorsey who had a very good game against Croatia. So we have to play a perfect game and we can’t back down”, added Achille Polonara, while speaking of Sloukas, Datome couldn’t but mention his years together with him in Fenerbahce: “He is a great friend of mine, we had some great years together in Fenerbahce. I hope Italy wins, but I also wish Kostas the best, and all the success unless when he is playing against me”.
As for extra motivation, the hosts of the Eurobasket are also playing for their absent, injured star Danilo Gallinari. As Polonara explained: “Danilo Gallinari is a big loss for us, but everyone wants to give something more. Still, Gallinari was one of our leaders. I am really sorry that he is not with us”.