By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
After Dimitris Itoudis’ departure from the Greek national team following the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila, the Greek Basketball Federation gave its national team’s bench to Vassilis Spanoulis for the next two years.
As stated in the official press release announcement, “A member of a generation of athletes who combined his presence with great successes in Greek basketball, takes over today the technical guidance of the Men’s National Team. Vassilis Spanoulis agreed on everything with the president of the EEC, Evangelos Liolios, on behalf of the administration and both sides will walk together for the next two years”.
Moreover, the Greek Basketball Federation also touched on the future appointments for the national team. “The challenges on the calendar for the National Team during this time are the July 2024 Pre-Olympic Tournament with the aim of appearing at the Paris Olympics and the EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers which start earlier, with the aim of appearing in the final phase of the competition”, it stated.
Playing for the Greek national senior team since the Olympic Games played at home in 2004 until EuroBasket 2015, where he averaged 11.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game, Kill Bill won one gold medal (FIBA EuroBasket 2005), one silver medal (FIBA World Cup 2006), and one bronze medal (FIBA EuroBasket 2009) with Greece.
Being the head coach of Peristeri since the summer of 2022, the Greek legend will start soon the Basketball Champions League Regular Season, being inserted in Group A with Falco Vulcano Szombathely from Hungary, Le Mans Sarthe Basket from France, and Unicaja Malaga from Spain.
Recently, Vassilis Spanoulis was honored by Olympiacos, the club he legendarily represented in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague for the vast majority of his career, which organized a special friendly game against Olimpia Milano to retire his iconic jersey number, the 7.
OFFICIAL: Vassilis Spanoulis is the new coach of the Greek NT for the next two years
— Aris Barkas (@arbarkas) October 2, 2023