Dimitris Agravanis responds to Itoudis: 'Stop the lies' / News - Basketnews.com

Dimitris Agravanis to Itoudis: "Stop the lies, tell about your curses in Serbian."

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

On Thursday, Greek NT forward Dimitris Agravanis requested to step away from the squad, citing personal reasons, and consequently, he will not be participating in the upcoming FIBA World Cup 2023.

Dimitrios Agravanis

Position:SF, PFAge:28Height:208 cmWeight:116 kgBirth place:Marousi, GreeceProfileNewsStatistics

Later the same day, amid speculation regarding a potential disagreement between players and the head coach, Dimitris Itoudis addressed the situation.

"The departure of Agravanis did not change the facts. Athletes come voluntarily here, they don't have a pistol put to their heads. After all, it was in the training plan that Agravanis and Kalaitzakis were to stay out tonight," Itoudis said after the exhibition loss against Italy.

"He put himself out of the national team. I will not disclose the details," he added. "I have contacted 22 athletes by phone or in person. Someone says, 'I'm coming,' and someone says, 'I can't.' Simple."

Responding to the coach's comments about his departure, Agravanis took to Instagram with a story.

"Stop the lies, tell about your curses in Serbian," Agravanis wrote.

The post was deleted shortly after being shared publicly.

Agravanis, 29, only played 1'45'' in Greece's 64-71 loss to Serbia on Tuesday night, where he scored one point.

Given Kostas Antetokounmpo's injury and the uncertain status of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Itoudis now faces the challenge of working with a significantly short-handed frontcourt lineup that currently includes Giorgos Papagiannis, Manolis Chatzidakis, Dinos Mitoglou, and Giorgos Tsalbouris.

In the FIBA EuroBasket 2022, Agravanis averaged 6.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game while shooting 50% from distance. He helped Greece reach the quarter-finals, where Germany eliminated them.

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