For the first time since 2008, Greece will participate in the Paris Olympic Games. Giannis Antetokounmpo and his teammates thus beat Croatia in the final of the Piraeus Olympic Qualifying Tournament to earn a place in France.
In tears after the meeting, the “Greek Freak” will thus be able to achieve one of his dreams… Better still, the Greek Olympic Committee has just named him flag bearer, along with the 40-year-old walker Antigoni Drisbioti.
“Ever since I was a child, I always wanted to participate in the Olympic Games. I remember that in 2016, when I was 20 years old, we played against Croatia and we lost the match (in the semi-final of the Turin Olympics). This memory has remained etched in my mind.” he explains. “It means a lot to me. The best athletes in the world are at the Olympics. It's an honor to go to the Olympics, I'll enjoy every moment.”
In the “death group”
On this momentum, the MVP of the 2021 Finals, even if he is not yet 100% physically, hopes to make some noise in Paris. But first, he will have to go through Lille, and this “death” group A from which he will already have to get out, against theAustraliaTHE Canada and theSpain. Only the two best teams in the group will go directly to the quarter-finals, even if the third can also hope to be there depending on the results of the other groups…
“The scenario couldn’t have been better. We qualify with my idol (Vassilis Spanoulis) as coach, at home, in front of our families, our fans, all these people who love us. We wanted to do something memorable at home. It’s an incredible feeling: we have to keep it inside us when we have to play again in a few weeks. We will have nothing to lose there. We will practice Greek basketball, give it our all and live with the results. I am convinced that we have an incredible team and that we can do something great!”
