By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
LILLE, France – Greece had to capture a must-needed victory against Australia to keep dreaming about making it to the Quarter-Finals of the Olympic Games, and Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered.
In the post-game aftermath, stopping by at the mixed zone in Lille, he shared his thoughts after his first-ever Olympic victory.
“I feel great. I think in all three games, we competed very, very well. The first two games did not go our way. We competed extremely hard, played great basketball, and went down the stretch to the difference. Against Canada and Spain, I was proud of the team”, he opened.
“[Today] we came out, we knew we had a mission ahead. We didn’t want to leave this tournament without getting a win. We felt like we were a very, very good team to not get the win and we competed. We have fought for all three games. I don’t think this has been a game that we haven’t fought until the end. I think in the first 20 minutes, we played so hard that in the second half, we did not have as much energy to give”, he commented about the performance against Australia.
Playing for your country “is different”
Giannis Antetokounmpo emphasized the pride of representing a whole country on the Olympic stage.
“It’s different. Everybody plays for the clubs, and in your club, you can be the best player. I won’t say it’s easy to play for your club, but I think it’s easier. Once you come here, you gotta take that off”, he said.
“Everything you know, put it on the side. Here we are doing it for a common goal, which is to win at all costs. It’s not winning the way that you want. Because we are representing our history here, we are representing 10 million Greeks. Here it is totally different”, he commented.
This turned out to be even more powerful as he became his country’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony. “It was unbelievable. The energy was extremely high going. I think there were thousands of athletes in the Paris Olympic Village. Seeing how everybody carried themselves and how everybody has a little bit of pressure you can see it in their eyes as much as they want to admit it, but once we got in the boat and we lifted up the flag, we were going through”, the Greek Freak commented.
“My father is watching from heaven, and he’s dancing”
“I tried to enjoy the moment. For me, it was one of the biggest dreams I could ever ask for. The day that they told me and asked me if I’d be willing to represent the country as flag-bearer, my first response was that I wanted my captain [Kostas Papanikolaou] to do it. He had more national team appearances than me, and it felt right”, he revealed.
“But they told me: “We want you to do it because you represent everything that sports represent, the way you carry yourself on the court”. And when I did it, I was the biggest animal that I’ve ever found in my life. And I know that my father is watching from heaven, and he’s dancing about this. He’s literally dancing”, he emotionally shared.
“I might win another championship, who knows, but I might never carry the flag again. So I tried those 45 minutes to soak it in as much as I could. It was raining, and it made it even more dramatic. I saw my mom all the time. I saw my mom, and she’d be on her phone always, and videotaping me. It was a great experience. I will never forget for the rest of my life”, Giannis Antetokounmpo also said.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIBA Basketball