Greek basketball federation president talks Spanoulis, Giannis in the Olympics / News - Basketnews.com

Greek Basketball Federation president Vangelis Liolios touched upon a variety of issues ahead of the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, ranging from Vassilis Spanoulis's effect to Giannis Antetokounmpo's desire to join the team in the summer.

Credit: InTime Sports Credit InTime Sports

Vangelis Liolios, who heads the Greek Basketball Federation, is currently fully focused on the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Piraeus, which will take place on 1-7 July.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Team:Milwaukee BucksPosition:PFAge:29Height:211 cmWeight:98 kgBirth place:Athens, GreeceProfileNewsStatistics

Greece wants to use its home-court advantage to advance through Tournament 3 and become one of the four teams to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics via qualification tournaments.

Ahead of this serious task, Liolios talked about the impact of Vassilis Spanoulis as the head coach of the Greek national team, Giannis Antetokounmpo's desire to join the team again, and the "Dream Team" roster announced by Team USA.

"Two years ago, we had the option of Dimitris Itoudis. ... who had enormous experience, but in the end, things turned out this way, and we did not manage to have any success," Liolios began by addressing Itoudis being replaced by Spanoulis.

"At the moment, [our coach] is Vassilis Spanoulis. Vassilis Spanoulis is a huge personality, he was not only a great player, a world-renowned player."

"He is not only an excellent coach who started his career in Peristeri but also has excellent results. It is that as a personality, he is a man who can inspire the players, who will convey to them the belief and confidence of victory and show them the way in which the national team can have success," the Greek president continued praising Spanoulis.

For Liolios, it is of immense importance that Spanoulis enjoyed success with the national team as a player in the past.

"Besides, let's not forget that Vassilis Spanoulis also had huge success as a player with the national team. Beyond EuroBasket, which had won the gold in 2005 in Belgrade..." Liolios recalled. "In 2006, if you remember correctly, we went all the way to silver at the World Cup, beating the Americans in Saitama, and in 2009, we won another medal."

"Vassilis knows the national team. He knows what Greece means; he knows what it means to play for the national team," Liolios continued. "It is very different for someone to play with the national team and to play with his team. The national team is not someone's team."

"The national team is a team of us all. It expresses an entire Hellenism, millions of people, and its jersey is very heavy."

Then, the executive went on to address Giannis Antetokounmpo's desire to join the team for the Olympics and the sensational Team USA roster.

"Team USA, the American national team, has an incredible squad," he argued. "If we look at the names, the players who play, you don't know who to admire first. It is incredible the roster that will have and the joy and ours to participate in these Olympic Games against the American team," Liolios said, praising Team USA.

"If we succeed and God willing, we can qualify and play against them; having Giannis with us, the big star of the national team, is, of course, something we want," he explained. "It's something he wants too."

"It is something that if all things go smoothly and we are healthy, it will become a reality. The Olympics are something very special for everyone. You know that very well. The Olympic Games are unique competitions. It's not just an event; it's the event," he said, concluding his remarks with a strong emphasis.

The first matches of Tournament 3, which will take place in Piraeus, will take place on July 2. Greece, which is located in Group B, will face off against the Dominican Republic and Egypt for the group phase.

Provided that they finish in either the first or the second place in their group, Greece will then have to play two one-match-elimination games to see if they qualify for the Olympics or not.

Thank you for reading us! Help us even more.