Itoudis provides positive updates on Georgios Papagiannis and Kostas Antetokounmpo / News - Basketnews.com

24 hours before the beginning of EuroBasket for Greece, coach Dimitris Itoudis provided some important updates about the players who were still in doubt

Credit: Vangelis Stolis Credit Vangelis Stolis

The journey leading to EuroBasket has not been easy for coach Itoudis and his players. The Greek national team had to deal with a good share of physical problems, which forced them to arrive in Milan with 14 players, with some athletes still in doubt until the very last minute.

Greece / Schedule

Croatia GreeceFri15:00 Greece ItalySat19:00 Great Britain GreeceMon15:00 Greece UkraineTue15:00 Estonia Greece09-0815:00

In the pre-event press conference, coach Dimitris Itoudis shared some positive updates about the situation of two important players for the team: Georgios Papagiannis and Kostas Antetokounmpo.

"Georgios is good to go," Itoudis said. "He has already practiced multiple times with the team, and he did it with contacts too. Of course, since he has been out for a while, we'll need to see how he feels before the game. But he's ready. I'm excited to see that he's back where he belongs".

Itoudis then moved to the situation of Kostas Antetokounmpo, who has also been troubled by an injury.

"Regarding Kostas, we have some good news as well," the coach explained. "For him, it will take a little bit longer, but his recovery has been surprisingly good. He will be among the 12 players here, we'll see how he'll feel day by day. Of course, the doctors have their own schedule, and they want to be careful, but his recovery has been quicker than expected."

Greece will face Croatia in the first game of Group C, and Itoudis knows that it will be a tough challenge.

"Croatia is a great team, they have a very good versatility, they can play small, but they also can play big," Itoudis stated. "They have a good mix of veteran and younger players, players with NBA experience, so we definitely expect a competitive game."

With all the issues faced before the beginning of the tournament, the team now cannot wait to get on the court and represent their country, as coach Itoudis explained to BasketNews.

"I think that the team has shown behind closed doors that they're ready to sacrifice many things," the Greek national team head coach said to BasketNews. "I think this is a very important element. Of course, I would have loved to have a more stable situation without all our injury issues, but as I said, these guys are ready to go and want to show it on the court."

The new head coach of Fenerbahce explained that he doesn't believe that there are clearly stronger teams inside Group C.

"I understand that media focus more on Italy and Croatia, but I have a different approach," Itoudis continued. "Every team is competitive, I don't think Great Britain or Ukraine are inferior teams, this is also a very important cultural event, and every team is ready to give the absolute best."

In terms of goals and pressure, coach Itoudis doesn't want to focus too much on the long term but prioritizes the day-to-day work that the team is going to face during this tournament.

"As I said, we have a different approach; our future is the next practice," Itoudis explained. "We will try to improve every single day and put together a group of players who can face many difficulties. We have great respect for this tournament, and for this reason, we need to be pragmatic."

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