National team the next day: Thoughts on the Pre-Olympics and the coach issue

The National team essentially completed its effort in World Cup after defeat by Lithuaniaas the fight with the Montenegro now acquires a procedural character. Essentially, from tomorrow the next day dawns for the National team, which concerns the February “window” for the Eurobasket qualifiers and especially the Pre-Olympic Tournament. Among the “hot” issues is the one about the future of the coach.

The Pre-Olympics and the possibility of it being held in Greece

Beyond the seven teams that will qualify directly to Paris Olympics and of course the host France, the last four “tickets” for the Olympic Basketball Tournament (July 27 to August 11) will be given through four Pre-Olympic Tournaments. Six teams will take part in each of these and the winner of each will earn a place in Paris.

These matches will take place July 2-7, i.e. two to three weeks after the conclusion of most national championships. THE FIBA a few days ago sent an invitation of interest to the federations that want to host a Pre-Olympic Tournament. The initial cost is 2.3 million euroswith the amount increasing and approaching 3 million euros if some organizational costs are added.

EEC will consider the possibility of expressing interest taking into account all the parameters and of course the cost. Certainly this effort could be done more easily with government support or sponsorship. One realizes that payback is not an easy task, since the games that each team will play in the Pre-Olympic Tournament are from two to four.

Certainly his eventual presence Giannis Antetokounmpo it could guarantee a packed stadium and sponsors, but no one can take that for granted. It is noted that the NBA finals begin no later than June 6so even if the Bucks get there, the Greek Freak will have completed his obligations a few weeks before the Pre-Olympics, which does not coincide with the NBA playoffs as happened in 2021.

The coach thing

There is no answer for that matter of the national team coach yet. The EEC management will analyze the data and then decide on the specific important issue and the if he will continue the collaboration with Dimitris Itoudis, as long as he is of course willing to do so. On the one hand, it is possible to look for something different for the bench since in the two years of coach Itoudis no great success came, even if this year there were many relievers. But on the other hand, with the Pre-Olympics being so immediately after the championships, it might have been a risk to have a new coach come in to do a fast track preparation of 15-20 days.

Before that, there are of course the “window” matches for the EuroBasket qualifiers in February, which will be played with a regular lineup, as after an agreement with the EuroLeague, the FIBA ​​matches will not coincide. Thus, it will not be impossible for Euroleague players to participate, nor… coaches. The positive is how so far there has been no question of a player’s permanent withdrawal from the national teamsince Nick Kalathis, Kostas Slukas and Kostas Papanikolaou, who belong to the old guard, have not shown such an intention.