Greece’s national basketball team have wrapped up their series of exhibition games, ahead of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Piraeus with a friendly 102-75 win over the Bahamas.
The match also saw the return of NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who played his first game since straining his left calf on April 9 in a regular-season game for Milwaukee Bucks.
‘The Greek Freak’ recorded 14 points with five rebounds, an assist and one steal in just 15 minutes of play.
After the match, head coach Vassilis Spanoulis shared what his main goal is with the two-time NBA MVP.
“I must be mad to not take advantage of Giannis,” Spanoulis said.
“But what I want to achieve is for all the guys to feel comfortable playing with Giannis.
“You can see that there is no hesitation in shooting. Giannis has excellent readings and was much better than I expected. He is one of the best players in the world, if not the best.”
While Giannis gets all the external attention, the coach said it’s the whole team gelling together.
“It’s an honour to have him in our country, but he’s also realised he has great teammates. We are a team, we play for each other, and that is how we will continue.”
Konstantinos Mitoglou banked in a game-high 18 points for the team while Nick Calathes chipped in seven points and 11 assists.
Thomas Walkup piled up six points, nine assists, four rebounds, and three steals for Greece.
