Enthusiasm and determination for big "battles" against great teams are the ingredients of success for Itoudis' team, which peeks at the podium for the first time since 2009 (bronze in the Eurobasket in Poland) beyond the given competitive possibilities and with Giannis Antetokounmpo to raise it... several levels, in speed and spectacle. However, there were no shortage of injury problems during the pre-season, with Costas Antetokounmpo being included in the squad at the last moment, but not being ready. He responded extremely well to the treatment, but everything shows that he will not be in the starting lineup against the Croatians, since he needs more days to be ready to contribute, when the national team will need him... more. Giorgos Papagiannis is ready to play, in the "5", but as he also fought to overcome his injury and not miss the Eurobasket, he is expected to be used sparingly by the Federal coach and according to the requirements every match, so that there is no risk of a relapse and he is ready for the knock-out crossover games from the round of 16, in Berlin. Ready to compete are Kostas Sloukas and Ioannis Papapetrou.
In their statements, the Croatian internationals yesterday named the Greek national team as favorites, but sent a message that it is possible that they will be able to pull off... the surprise, since, as they pointed out, they have been preparing for this first match for a long time. Damir Mulaomerovic, known to Greek fans from his time as a player in Panathinaikos, PAOK, Panhellenic and Olympiakos, is the national coach of Croatia and what is certain is that in order to stop the No. 34 of the national team, Giannis Antetokounmpo, he will send many players on him to close his corridors and limit his space of action. Of course, this national team of Greece, the best of all time, has many solutions and players to score, when and if the opposing defenses manage to "lock" the "Greek Freak".
The Croatians traveled to Milan, after the recent shock of being eliminated from the 2nd round of the World Cup 2023 qualifiers. Returning to the podium at EuroBasket is a hidden desire for stubborn Croatia, which in its 30-year history has only two bronze medals. (1993, 1995). In other words, he has won a medal for 27 years! The now 33-year-old Utah Jazz small forward Bojan Bogdanovic is the "star" of Croatia. The former player of Panathinaikos, Mario Hezonia, provides solutions in the attack, while "Mula" also has three more very... dangerous players, Dario Saric, Krunoslav Simon and Ivica Zubac. Jalen Smith raced to collect all the necessary documents and compete as a "naturalized". However, Damir Mulaomerovic made... brave decisions, after the exclusion from the World Cup with the most resounding ones concerning the non-invitation to Ande Zizic and Dragan Bender.
The national team will try to enter EuroBasket on the right foot, with a victory over Croatia, with the first goal of occupying the first place of the 3rd group, while tomorrow, Saturday (3/9) at 22:00 on the road of the players of Dimitris Itoudis Italy will be found.
THE ROSTERS OF THE TWO OPPONENTS, GREECE AND CROATIA
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HELLAS
NAME Date General Height Team Comp. Points
Dimitris Agravanis 20.12.1994 2.08 - 38 275
Michalis Lountzis 04.08.1998 1.98 Olympiakos 14 68
George Papagiannis 03.07.1997 2.20 Panathinaikos 40 280
Giannoulis Larentzakis 22.09.1993 2.00 Olympiacos 43 290
Kostas Papanikolaou 31.07.1990 2.04 Olympiacos 125 775
Ioannis Papapetrou 30.03.1994 2.07 Partizan 42 283
Kostas Antetokounmpo 20.11.1997 2.08 - 16 107
Tyler Dorsey 18.02.1996 1.96 Dallas Mavericks 14 108
Nick Calathes 07.02.1989 2.00 Barcelona 129 1080
Kostas Sloukas 15.01.1990 1.90 Olympiakos 111 747
Giannis Antetokounmpo 06.12.1994 2.11 Milwaukee Bucks 52 668
Thanasis Antetokounmpo 17.07.1992 2.01 Milwaukee Bucks 45 258
COACH: DIMITRIS ITOUDIS
CROATIA
NAME POSITION HEIGHT TEAM
BOJAN BOGDANOVIC FORWARD 2.01 UTAH JAZZ
TONY PERKOVICH GUARD 1.91 ORLEANS
JALLEN SMITH GUARD 1.93 ALBA
ROCO PRKATSIN FORWARD 2.06 JIRONA
KRONOSLAV SIMON GARDE 1.97 -
MARIO HEZONIA FORWARD 2.03 REAL MADRID
LOVRO GNIDENTIC GUARD 1.98 CENTEVITA OLYMPIA
CARLO MATKOVIC CENTER 2.08 CENTEVITA OLYMPIA
IVAN RAMLIAK FORWARD 2.03 SLASK WROCLAW
DOMINIC MAVRA GUARD 1.98 SPLIT
IBIZA ZUMBATS CENTER 2.16 LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Dario Saric FORWARD 2.08 PHOENIX SUNS
COACH: DAMIR MULAOMEROVIC
Today (1/9), the teams of the 3rd and 4th groups are thrown into the "battle" of EuroBasket 2022. At 15:00, for the 4th group, the "menu" of the day begins with the Israel-Finland match, at 15:15, the Ukraine-Great Britain match is held from the national group and at 18:30 Poland and the Czech Republic take place in the jamball (4th group). At 22:00 two matches begin, the one of interest to the national team, between Italy and Estonia, while the favorite for the podium, Serbia, competes against the Netherlands.
September 2, 2022
4th Group (1st Matchday)
15:00 Israel-Finland
18:30 Poland-Czech Republic
22:00 Serbia-Netherlands
3rd Group (1st Matchday)
15:15 Ukraine-Great Britain
18:00 Croatia-Greece
22:00 Italy-Estonia
