Vasilis Spanoulis, focusing on his role with the Greek senior national team, confirmed that Giannis Antetokounmpo will participate in the upcoming FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Piraeus.
“Giannis will be present with the national team in the Olympic qualifiers,” Spanoulis said at a press conference following the conclusion of the best-of-three series against Olympiakos. Antetokounmpo, 29, is returning to the Greek national team. His international experience includes appearances from his debut at the U20 level in 2013, up to the senior level at the FIBA World Cup in 2014 and 2019, EuroBasket in 2015 and 2022, and the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in 2016 in Turin.
The upcoming challenge is the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament to be held in Greece. Greece will host and play against the Dominican Republic on July 3 and Egypt on July 4 at the Peace and Friendship Stadium (SEF). Securing first or second place in Group B of the preliminary phase will advance Spanoulis’ team to knockout games against Croatia, Slovenia, or New Zealand in the semifinals. Reaching the final provides the opportunity to win one of the six available spots for the Olympic Games.
In the playoffs of the Greek Stoiximan Basket League, Peristeri and head coach Spanoulis have one more team outing left – the match for third place against the loser of the best-of-three series between Panathinaikos and Aris.