By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Giannis Antetokounmpo will likely star in Greece’s roster for the 2019 FIBA World Cup. The group stage games feature affairs versus Montenegro, Brazil and New Zealand. However, the Greek Freak and his teammates will first go through a series of preparation matches stretching from 10th to 27th of August. The Greek Basketball Federation announced the full schedule on Friday.
On July 24th, the players picked from Thanasis Skourtopoulos for his squad will gather at Athens for the initial tests and practices. On August 5th, they will travel to Heraklion for friendly games against Iran and Hungary before returning to the Greek capital and take part in the Acropolis Tournament.
Greece will go against Italy, Turkey and Serbia at Athens from August 16th to August 18th. All four National Team participating in the Acropolis Tournament are expected to feature NBA players including Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks teammate Ersan Ilyasova. Serbia’s Nikola Jokic is another star the Greek crowd will have the opportunity to enjoy.
On August 21st, the Greek National Team will begin its journey to China and finalize its preparation stage with three more friendly contests. Before the 2019 FIBA World Cup kicks off, the Greeks will face Jordan on August 24th, China on August 26th and Turkey or Senegal on August 27th.