The battle of the titans, as well as the path that, at least until the 1/8 finals, looks passable, were marked by the draw of the World Cup basketball groups for our national team.

In particular, the Blues and Whites are in Group 3 of the Manila Finals, with the United States as their big opponent, where Giannis Antetokounmpo will face the players he plays against in the magical world of the NBA. In the same group are also Jordan and New Zealand, teams that can hardly deprive our representative group of the second place, which together with the first leads to the next stage of the competition.

As for our matches with the Americans, the 2006 World Cup semi-final match will always stand out, where Panagiotis Giannakis’ Greece won 1:1:95 in Saitama against the then Dream Team and received a ticket to the grand final, where he was defeated by Spain, taking the silver medal.

There may be a team in the group of our national team – a favorite even for gold, but for the team of Dimitris Itoudis, at least at the first stage, presence in the top eight seems possible. And this is because in the case of qualification, we “fall” into the 4th group, where Lithuania, Montenegro, Mexico and Egypt are located. We remind you that the first two teams from each group go to the next stage and transfer their results to the new group (1/8 finals). Then again, the top two from each group will advance to the quarter-final playoffs.

Itoudis: “It’s important that we’re on a date”

In his first statements, Dimitris Itoudis spoke about the presence of the national team at the final stage of MundoBasket, as well as a possible crossroads in case of qualification. “First of all, it is an honor to be in another World Cup and actually qualify before the window process was completed, which was achieved thanks to the efforts of all the athletes and coaches who led the national team to participate in another. great appointment,” the federal coach emphasized and added: “The first thing we want is to have as many athletes available at the end of July, I mean that they are healthy, and this is my main wish until the end of their obligations in front of their clubs, so that everyone can put themselves at the disposal of the National. From now on with the first reading I think we are heading for a difficult crossroads to continue and probably with the presence of the Lithuanians as it is clear to the first group that we are the number one and clear favorite of the tournament, USA. Maybe we don’t know its line-up yet, but it will definitely be a very good team. This is the first assessment, and I say again that the main thing is that everyone is healthy and starts training without problems and in the best conditions.”

Zisis: “We believe that Antetokounmpo will be with us”

The World Championship will be held from August 25 to September 10 in three countries: the Philippines (where the final stage will also take place), Japan and Indonesia, and Greece was represented by the President of the EEC at the draw held in the Philippines. , Vangelis Liolios, General Manager of the Federation, Dinos Sverkunos and General Manager of the team, Nikos Zisis, who even remarked after the end of the process that: “I think the draws are made to be made. Despite the fact that we are in full racing activity, we are approaching this great event. We have about three months left before pre-season and four months before the tournament. We believe in our coaches, in coach Itoudis, in our players, and we want them all to be healthy to represent our country with dignity and make all Greeks proud. I also experienced this as a player, you can judge if the draw is favorable or not, but it is how you present yourself that matters. I think it’s important for us that we don’t have to travel and that we play all our games in Manila. There is a peculiarity that before the final we will play a friendly match with the USA in Abu Dhabi. The season is in full swing and a lot can happen. The most important thing is that we are all together, healthy and united. We started last year and I think we can make the Greeks proud. Our first feeling is that we will all be together. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s NBA season is over, but we have other very high quality players who are still competing. We have time ahead of us, the main thing is to be healthy. The meeting with Giannis Antetokounmpo took place about two months ago, we have not yet spoken to him after the departure of the Bucks, but we believe that he will be with us. Initially, there is a feeling that everyone will be with us and this is the most important thing.”

Ambassador Skola

As for the process, the Spaniards, through the president of their federation, Jorge Garbajos, handed over the trophy, which will be transferred to the new owner after the grand final on 10 September. In his message, FIBA ​​General Secretary Andreas Zaglis said: “The qualifiers were like… a marathon. Sometimes qualification was decided in one possession. Over 1000 players competed for a ticket and we have 32 teams that are excited to take part. FIBA and the three co-host countries have invested heavily to ensure that all teams have the best possible conditions and world basketball is looking forward to having the best players in the world take part in the tournament.” The ambassador for the 2023 tournament is Luis Scola of Argentina, who in 2019 in China at the age of 39, with 135 points and 57 rebounds, led his team to the final and to the silver medal. Dirk Nowitzki joined him in the drawing process.

eight groups

1st group (Manila, Araneta Colisium)
Angola, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Italy

2nd group (Manila, Araneta Colisium)
South Sudan, China, Serbia, Puerto Rico

3rd group (Manila, Mall of Asia Arena)
USA, Jordan, GREECE, New Zealand

4th group (Manila, Mall of Asia Arena)
Egypt, Mexico, Lithuania, Montenegro

5th group (Okinawa, Okinawa Arena)
Germany, Finland, Australia, Japan

6th group (Okinawa, Okinawa Arena)
Slovenia, Georgia, Venezuela, Cape Verde

7th group (Jakarta, Indonesia Arena)
Iran, Spain, Ivory Coast, Brazil

8th group (Jakarta, Indonesia Arena)
Canada, Latvia, Lebanon, France

Match schedule:

Saturday 26/8

US-New Zealand

Jordan-Greece

Monday 28/8

Greece-USA

New Zealand-Jordan

Wednesday 30/8

USA-Jordan

Greece-New Zealand