All available present for the first time of Vassilis Spanoulis on the bench of the national team that expects to be present at the Olympic Games
Vassilis Spanoulis grabbed a pencil and paper and had only one thing in mind: “At my first invitation I want everyone present. We will present the strongest possible lineup.” The objective difficulties threw some mines in his path, but the message got through in all directions. From the national team of the new era, no one will be exempted for flea jumping. When the time comes for the first gathering for the pre-Olympic tournament the whole army will be non-negotiable and excuses like “fatigue” will not be accepted.
The February ‘window’ program, unique to the winter of 2023-24, was the icing on the cake for the new federal government. The opening match for the EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers (Cyprus, Finland, Poland, finally in Latvia) brings to Faliro a strong, tough, dangerous and gunpowder opponent. The Czech Republic played tricks on even full-fledged Greece, let alone a team like those that appeared in previous “windows”.
Spanoulis was an active international heading into the 2021 pre-Olympic tournament (from which he eventually sat out due to injury) and he remembers all too well who the opponent was that robbed Rick Pitino’s team of a ticket to Tokyo. Two years earlier, in China, the Czechs cut off our national team’s path to the 2019 Basketball World Cup quarterfinals, even though we had NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and they were playing without Jan Vesely.
So why should the Greek team be considered favorites against the complete Czech Republic next Friday at SEF? Why not show armor? The seat is a useful resource, but not a guarantee of success. Let’s hold on to that last one, because we’ll need it next July in the pre-Olympic tournament against Slovenians, Croatians, Dominicans and other democratic powers.
The rebuttal
The participation of our national team in the finals of EuroBasket 2025 (which for our boss will start in Nicosia) is not in danger, since three from Greece, the Czech Republic, Great Britain and the Netherlands will qualify. However, the last thing Spanoulis would want is a home defeat in his maiden game.
The analysts who predicted the exclusion of the overworked Tomas Walkup from the round of 16 were disproved, since the Greekized ace of Olympiakos was called up without much ado. Walkup will feature unexpectedly against the Czechs and then hand over to Naz Mitrou-Long, who will make his debut in blue on Monday in The Hague and dedicate his debut to his Greek mother.
Kostas Papanikolaou will also play in the derby with the Czech Republic, since the team leader could not be absent from the first… rally. Kostas Slukas is normally considered for the summer, but the fear of aggravating his injury left him out of the “window”. Ioannis Papapetrou has not found a rhythm since his return and was deemed unable to help.
Virtually the only one who was excluded from his first Spanoulis national team for maintenance reasons was Nick Calathes, who nevertheless expressed his desire to compete in the pre-Olympic tournament. “As long as I’m fit I don’t see how I’m going to miss the summer date,” he said last week. “We have a good team and the people on our side. The opportunity is great and I can’t wait to play.” Calathy’s Fenerbahce team-mate Tyler Dorsey was not included in the current squad, as regulations only allow one naturalized player.
Vassilis Spanoulis called the players who missed the 2023 World Cup due to injury (Mitoglou, K. Antetokounmpo), ruled out Luntzis who plays little for Olympiakos and dressed in blue… second-class players who are distinguished in the collective events: Toliopoulos, Kalaitzakis, Kouzeloglou, Charalambopoulos .
Renewal at hand
After the summer of 2024, players like the seven mentioned above – but also Papagiannis, Rogavopoulos, Mantzoukas, Moraitis, Zougris who were also invited by Spanoulis – will man the core of the next national team after the inevitable renewal. Papanikolaou will turn 34 next summer, Kalathis is already 35, Slukas is 34, Walkap and Thanasis Antetokounmpo are 32, Larentzakis is 31, Papapetrou, Bohorides are 30. It goes without saying that Giannis Antetokounmpo (29) is a special case and does not fit into any rule, especially after his puzzling attitude last summer. Information from his … backyard insists that the NBA superstar is willing to lead the national team to the Olympics. “His dream is to appear with the coat of arms at the opening ceremony under the Eiffel Tower,” his man told us.
However, the asterisk that accompanies every such promise of John, “as long as he is healthy”, cuts the wings. The course of the Milwaukee Bucks suggests that the season will be over for the “Greek freak” around the end of May, but the accumulated burden also requires a prolonged recovery period. Until proven otherwise, we are going for a duel between Giannis and Lukas Doncic on the first weekend of July at the marble mills of Faliros. That night our nation can be bathed in Parisian light or plunged back into semi-darkness.
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