By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Following EuroBasket 2025 and winning a bronze medal, the plan for the senior national team of Greece is to move to future FIBA tournaments with head coach Vassilis Spanoulis and team leader Giannis Antetokounmpo on board.
“Giannis, as long as he is healthy, will make himself available for the national team. Always, meaning always,” mentioned Vangelis Liolios, the president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation, during an interview on Greek public television.
“We want him to stay,” he continued, referring to 43-year-old Spanoulis on Thursday morning, “Some issues must be resolved. In every case, no matter the situation, some issues are always there.”
“What is important is that both sides want to extend the collaboration. I think Vassilis is a person, a coach, a former player, who is linked to the national team. I always said that Greece and the national team flow through his veins. On the other hand, he is a professional coach, with various obligations, and we must see how these can fit for everyone’s benefit,” he explained the current situation surrounding the Greek play-caller.
With Greece shifting to the Qualifiers of the FIBA World Cup 2027, the schedule opens with matchups opposite Romania in Athens on November 27 and a visit to Portugal on November 30. Montenegro is also in the four-team group, which awards three tickets to the second and final round of the Qualifiers.
“If we reach an agreement and if it is possible for the best of the national team, he will coach,” Liolios commented on the native of Larissa potentially taking over the Qualifiers.
On the 2025-26 season at the club level, Spanoulis has focused on guiding AS Monaco through the next editions of the EuroLeague and domestic competitions in France. Nearby the next FIBA window, La Roca Team will be at home against Anadolu Efes on November 26 and Paris on December 4.