Here on CNN Philippines: “Proud of my team-Yiannis loves the national team”

Invited to CNN Philippines It was via Zoom Dimitris Itoudis. The federal coach said he was proud of the effort the National team is making in World Cupwhile referring to his absence Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Greek Freak’s love for Greece. At the same time, he named the favorite in tomorrow’s match Lithuania, while praising the hospitality of the people in Manila and the level of the organization. In detail, he talked about:

-Hospitality in Manila: “Everyone here is very kind, they want to help you, the organization is going great, the teams have everything they need and the interest is high. I saw the first game that the Philippines played in front of 50 thousand spectators and it was amazing. It’s what basketball needs.”

-the match with Lithuania: “The team is resting. We had the first meeting to prepare for the next opponent. Lithuania is a great team, they have played great basketball so far and we have to agree that together with the USA they have played the best basketball here. They have six Euroleague players, many who are in Zalgiris with the same coach and Valanciunas who we know what a benchmark he is. Obviously they are the favourites, they have been the same team for years. Important players such as Sabonis are also absent from them, but they play very well. We will give our fight and hopefully we won’t have to try to come back from -15 because it won’t be easy.”

– the progress of the national team so far: “With the roster we came and of which we are proud, since six important players we had in last year’s Eurobasket are missing, for various reasons, we represent our country. A day before the start of the World Cup we lost our leading scorer and rebounder, but the team filled his void extremely well and promised to play for him as well. We are realistic, the USA played the best basketball so far and we couldn’t compete with them as much as we would have liked. We tried there to do some things to help us for the crucial game against New Zealand.”

-the victory over New Zealand: “We had two different faces in each half. In the second we had a completely different approach. Everything was done by the players. It’s about how focused they are and believe in what they’re doing. We spoke at half-time and said that we had to act, not react. We forced the opposition into mistakes and that helped our attack as we built our confidence. New Zealand showed that they are a very good team, who are very tough.”

– the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo: “Yiannis loves the national team, he likes to play for Greece and he has proven it for so many years. But he had to follow the orders of the Bucks doctors and have an operation which, unfortunately, did not allow him to be here with us. But it wasn’t just Giannis, it was Kostas, Sloukas, Dorsey, Kalathis and many players who couldn’t be with us for various reasons. The players who accepted the call, the 18 who came to training, said we are who we are and we are going to fight. We may be the underdogs this year, but the game is not lost before it begins. We beat Jordan, we had some wins against the USA and we got the final against New Zealand. The players have a good bond and we are proud of the team as a federation, as a country and myself as a coach.”

-whether Giannis will travel to the Philippines to see Greece: “I don’t know, I haven’t talked to him recently. Thanasis probably did. I don’t know if they will come here, but I received congratulatory messages from old players and coaches. We are happy to have Giannis, maybe not this year, but he has shown that he wants to help the National Team. He is one of the top players in the world. May God keep him strong and in the future he will be present to help the national team again”.