By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Greek basketball federation president Vaggelis Liolios stated that both the US national team before the FIBA World Cup and the Milwaukee Bucks may be coming to Greece sooner than later.
To be exact, Liolios talked in the weekly ”Pick ‘Ν Roll’ show on the Greek streaming service Cosmote TV and admitted that there are talks on having a prep game between Greece and USA before the upcoming FIBA World Cup 2023.
As Liolios said: “The friendly game against the USA is a rumor that I hope will be confirmed. I will travel to the States at the end of the month and then I will also go to Istanbul (ed.note: where Dimitris Itoudis, the Greek national team coach, is working during the season as the coach of Fenerbahce). I think our role is to be near the people who are the pillars of our national team. That has to do with the team itself, with the players, because there’s no team without them. We are preparing in order to have the best possible result”.
With Giannis Antetokounmpo being the marquee name of the Greek national team and two big prep games against Luca Doncic’s Slovenia already announced, there might be also a meeting with Team USA which will travel to Spain for a tournament against Slovenia and the hosts.
And also the long-rumored game of the Milwaukee Bucks in Greece may end up a reality according to Liolios, even if it’s not a simple operation: “The Bucks are a very big organization and their whole operation support their big star, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Of course, we will collaborate with them because every team wants the best for their players. Of course, an NBA game in Greece is not something that can happen overnight. First and foremost the Bucks and the NBA must want to come and also the conditions must be optimal. It’s not easy”.