Twenty-three days of intense preparation passed with five friendly matches and a count of four victories, one defeat, from which several conclusions were drawn and the sign is positive. With tomorrow’s game (21.00) in Serbia for the World Cup qualifiers, the national team wants, on the one hand, to book a place for the 2023 World Cup on the courts of the Far East, and on the other hand, together with Sunday’s game against Belgium. to show the level of readiness for the EuroBasket in September.

“We are ready to take the next step in official games. We have had enough good friendly matches and now we are looking forward to the official matches. Serbia is a very good team, they have a very good platform and very warm fans, but we will be focused and we will go there with the aim of winning,” Kostas Antetokounmpo emphasized, while his brother Giannis demonstrated his intentions through social networks with the inscription “focus on every step and a determined look. Giorgos Papagiannis will not participate in the mission, although his condition is improving day by day, as is Giannis Papapetrou. However, apart from the competitive part, perhaps the most important thing is that this national team lived up to the expectations of the Greek fans. Indicative is the fact that for the next match with Belgium, next Sunday (20.00) at OAKA, a full house is considered a given. According to the EEC, 8,000 tickets were received per day, the demand for them is huge. The presence of Giannis Antetokounmpo brings a different tone to the national team as Greece’s game against Italy (3.9, 10.00pm) at EuroBasket is the first of the tournament to have been announced as sold out. .

• The girls’ team beat Latvia 77-64 to advance to the EuroBasket U16 quarterfinals against Spain.