It’s been twenty years since that magical summer of 2005, when the National Greece rose back to the top of Europe by winning the gold medal in Eurobasket of Belgrade. It was the second time in its history, after the ’87 epic in the SEF with a front -legged unparalleled Nikos Galiswhich Greek basketball wrote golden pages.
On the bench then the Panagiotis Giannakisthe ‘dragon’, and inside the parquet a great generation which was supposed to leave her own stigma: Spanoulis, Diamantidis, Papaloukas, Zisis, Kakiouzis, Fotsis, Papadopoulos, Dikoudis, Tsartsaris, Hatzivretas, Bourousis and Vassilopoulos.
Today, two decades later, the Fiba He remembers that course and recalls that the 2005 flame still inspires. The new national, with the guide to the Vasilis Spanoulis On the bench and Nikos Zisis in a General Manager role, he is in the knockout of the Eurobasket in Riga with the same dream: to reach the top again.
In the tribute there are persons who connect generations, from the Spanul and Liveup to today’s protagonists Slouka, Papanikolaou, Mitoglou, Toliopoulos and Kalaitzakis.
In detail what they said is as follows:
Vassilis Spanoulis: “My first thought is that I had hair at that time … It was an incredible moment. We took many Greeks on the streets. “
Nikos Zisis: “I started playing basketball because when I was four years old, I saw Greece winning Eurobasket. And being able to do this as an 18 -year -old player was always the biggest achievement of my career.
20 years ago, it seems to me like a long time. It was an incredible success for us. No one thought we could go to Belgrade and win everything. But we were confident. A gold team, a generation of Greek basketball with great players.
But the most important thing that stands out 20 years later is that it was a team that made the sacrifice to always be at the highest level in every game. “
Costas Sloukas: “I remember going out on the streets, screaming and celebrating with other people. It was something special and of course, we all have these memories in our minds.
My biggest memory was against France, the race, the shot of Diamantides and the overthrow we have made in the last two minutes.
It is very important that we have Spanoulis and Zisi in Ethniki, because they maintain this mentality they had and are trying to convey this mentality to get it to the parquet. They have a lot of experience and I respect them a lot. “
Kostas Papanikolaou: “It was the moment when he defined me, made me believe, made me want to get involved in this sport, it made me fall in love with it.
In the match with France I went home and opened the television just when the final phase for Greece began. Nikos (Zisis) drove the ball and passed it back to Diamantides. So this is the only picture I have from the semifinals and it was the best image I could have.
I remember I was ecstatic. I was going home and it was a really special time for me. I hold her in my heart and that made me fall in love with the sport.
Our new players have the opportunity to be close to players who have achieved in the past and can transmit the mentality and how they have to approach everything. It is very important, especially for young people. “
Dinos Mitoglou: “The experience of Spanoulis and Zisi and their character mean a lot. Especially the coach Spanoulis is winner. So maybe the only ones who know how to lead us to something unique, to do something special with the national team, as they did. “
Vassilis Toliopoulos: “Everyone remembers the semifinals with France, the stunning overthrow we made. This is the spirit that governs the Greek team. Never give up and always try for the best possible. “
Panagiotis Kalaitzakis: “I have probably watched this game (France’s semifinal) over 50 times already.
If there were no players like Zisis, Diamantidis, Spanoulis, Papaloukas, I wouldn’t be here now. I started playing basketball because of them because of this national team. And they also started playing basketball because of Galis and Giannakis.
We hope that we can leave something for the next generation. Some kids who are growing up now and are 5, 6, 7 years old, watch us on television and start playing basketball thanks to us. We hope that we can leave our mark for the next generation. That would be amazing. “
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
