By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Barring several upsets across the last international window for the 2025 EuroBasket Qualifiers, Greece will clinch a berth in this summer’s tournament.
Launching a brief training camp for the meetings with Czechia in Pardubice on Friday and with the Netherlands in Patras on Monday, Vassilis Spanoulis talked about players missing from the current squad, including Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Early in the 2024-25 campaign, coming out of a busy and successful offseason with the senior national team of Greece, the Freak committed to returning for another international tournament, the 2025 EuroBasket.
“This is about what we build in the summer, our relationship. Not just me and Giannis, but between him and the rest of the players. How much he enjoyed our journey from the Olympic Qualifying Tournament to the Olympic Games, and that he really desires and is motivated to play this summer,” noted Spanoulis.
With action spreading to Cyprus, Finland, Poland, and Latvia, the approaching EuroBasket is scheduled from August 27 to September 14.
Follow all the action in the February window of the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers
Besides Thomas Walkup being ruled out of this week’s FIBA window due to injury, Kostas Sloukas was sidelined due to a lingering knee issue, and Kostas Antetokounmpo due to his recent move to UCAM Murcia, as noted by the 42-year-old selector in a media session on Wednesday.
“I decided that other available players are a better fit to my approach, at the moment,” Spanoulis replied to a question about Baskonia’s Nikos Rogkavopoulos being left out of the squad despite being available.
Photo Credit: FIBA