By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Opening the round of cuts, the Hellenic Basketball Federation announced five players exiting the training camp.
Senior national team selector Dimitris Itoudis opted to release Alex Antetokounmpo, Lefteris Mantzoukas, Omiros Netzipoglou, Giorgos Tanoulis, and Giorgos Tsalmpouris from national team duties on Monday. Nineteen players are now in the running to play in the 2022 EuroBasket and preceding 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.
Greece’s remaining selections:
Dimitris Agravanis
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
Kostas Antetokounmpo (LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne)
Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
Lefteris Bochoridis (Panathinaikos OPAP)
Nick Calathes (FC Barcelona)
Nikos Chougkaz (Panathinaikos OPAP)
Tyler Dorsey (Dallas Mavericks)
Kostis Gontikas
Panagiotis Kalaitzakis (Panathinaikos OPAP)
Leonidas Kaselakis (Peristeri)
Giannis Kouzeloglou (AEK)
Giannoulis Larentzakis (Olympiacos)
Michalis Lountzis (Olympiacos)
Dimitris Moraitis (Peristeri)
Giorgos Papagiannis (Panathinaikos OPAP)
Kostas Papanikolaou (Olympiacos)
Ioannis Papapetrou (Partizan NIS)
Kostas Sloukas (Olympiacos)
Tipping of friendly action is Spain coming to visit Athens tomorrow Tuesday and the return game in Madrid Thursday. Kostas Sloukas and Giorgos Papagiannis were both ruled out from this week’s prep games due to injuries.
Papagiannis, 25, has not been cleared to practice since the start of the training camp. He has been labeled as questionable to play in EuroBasket.
Approaching official games will surface in a few weeks with a road game versus Serbia and a home game against Belgium on 25 and 28 August, respectively. FIBA’s next international window will start the final round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers.
From there to the EuroBasket, Greece is set in Group C to be held in Milan, Italy. Croatia, Italy, Great Britain, Ukraine, and Estonia are the challenges of the preliminary round from 2 to 8 September. Ranking first through fourth in Group C would clinch a berth in the next round and a ticket to Berlin, Germany.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL