Call-ups confirmed as Ethniki prepares for long road to EuroBasket 2021
The Hellenic Basketball Federation has confirmed the 15-man roster that will represent Greece in the first window of qualifiers for EuroBasket 2021.
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Greece coach Thanasis Skourtopoulos has submitted his roster selections for Greece’s first two qualifiers on the road to EuroBasket 2021 as the Ethniki open up their campaign with clashes against Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina next month.
Coming off a disappointing showing at last summer’s FIBA World Cup in China, Skourtopoulos will look to lead Greece to a strong qualifying campaign on the continent as Greece aims to qualify for a 17th-straight EuroBasket.
A change to the format will see all European nations need to qualify for the final tournament unlike in previous years where automatic qualification spots were handed to Europe’s top sides.
The new format is part of the reason why Skourtopoulos won’t have many familiar faces at his disposal for next month’s games as the ongoing dispute between FIBA and the EuroLeague continues to lockout EuroLeague-based players from international duty midseason.
With that in mind, several Basket League sides are well represented in the roster selections with Promitheas leading the way with four call-ups. Among the more notable call-ups is Dimitris Agravanis who returns to international duty after a long lay-off due to injury-riddled campaigns over the past few seasons.
Agravanis is joined by Promitheas teammates Dimitris Katsivelis, Leonidas Kaselakis, and Vangelis Mantzaris – the latter having featured for Greece at last summer’s World Cup.
Giannoulis Larentzakis is the only other player from Greece’s World Cup roster to be included in the latest roster selection.
The Peristeri trio of Giannis Agravanis, Christos Saloustros, and Gaios Skoridilis are among the call-ups after impressing for Peristeri domestically and in the Basketball Champions League.
AEK’s Charis Giannopoulos and Linos Chrysikopoulos were also among the call-ups, while PAOK and Aris are represented by Vaggelis Margaritis and Lefteris Bochoridis respectively.
Georgios Kalaitzakis, 21, is the youngest player included in the call-ups, while journeyman Ioannis Bourousis was left out of the squad despite being a mainstay in the Greece roster throughout qualifying for the World Cup
The Ethniki will tip-off their journey to EuroBasket 2021 on 21 February against Bulgaria in Patras before facing Bosnia and Herzegovina in Tuzla on 24 February.
In addition to facing Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bulgaria, Greece will also face Latvia on the road to EuroBasket 2021 with the top three seeds in the group advancing to the final tournament next summer.
Greece Call-ups February 2019
Guards: Vangelis Mantzaris (Promitheas), Dimitris Katsivelis (Promitheas), Georgios Kalaitzakis (Nevezis), Giannoulis Larentzakis (Murcia), Lefteris Bochoridis (Aris)
Forwards: Linos Chrysikopoulos (AEK), Giannis Agravanis (Peristeri), Dimitris Agravanis (Promitheas), Charis Giannopoulos (AEK), Leonidas Kaselakis (Promitheas), Vaggelis Margaritis (PAOK), Christos Saloustros (Peristeri)
Centers: Vassilis Kavvadas (Iraklis), Gaios Skordilis (Peristeri), Michalis Tsairelis (Ifaistos Limnou)
