By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Moving from the preliminary round to the knockout stage of the 2022 EuroBasket, plenty of national teams primed to land on the podium suffered early exits.
The Quarterfinals held Tuesday and Wednesday sent both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic home. Fellow NBA superstar and back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic was knocked out alongside Serbia in the Round of 16.
Host Germany against new-look Spain and experienced France looking to finish the Cinderella story of Poland shape the Semifinals. The tournament continues Friday and concludes Sunday with the medal games.
Eurohoops picked out five players bidding farewell in the Quarterfinals, more or less in a disappointing fashion.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece)
EuroBasket stats: 29.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 4.7 apg, 2.5 spg, 0.8 bpg
Greece and the Milwaukee Bucks leader both were impressive in the group stage. The perfect 5-0 record included wins over solid sides the likes of group host Italy and Croatia. The Czech Republic presented the first knockout threat but the Greek Freak and his teammates survived, only to get on the receiving end of the nasty bump to Germany three days later.
Giannis is still looking for success at the international level.
Lauri Markkanen (Finland)
EuroBasket stats: 27.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.6 spg, 0.4 bpg
Since labeled as the Finisher, Markkanen was way more connected in making bucket after bucket compared to the impressive senior debut back in the 2017 EuroBasket. Deliveries lifting Finland to the second seed of Group D behind Serbia and in the Round of 16 past Croatia. Spain’s Sergio Scariolo put an end to hopes for a medal.
The recent addition to the Utah Jazz asserted himself as a huge part of the national team. It gets scarier from here.