Qualifiers heroes Bourousis, Athinaiou lead Greece in third window
ATHENS (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - The players that have led Greece to an unbeaten record in the World Cup Qualifiers will in the third window spearhead the country's bid to reach next year's 32-team tournament in China.
Ioannis Bourousis and Giannis Athinaiou, the stars in Greece's 95-92 overtime triumph at Great Britain in their first triumph on November 24, and numerous others with Qualifiers experience are in the 15-man squad for games at Israel on June 28 and then at Estonia on July 2.
| Greece 15-player squad for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers | |||
| Thanasis Antetokounmpo | Ioannis Athinaiou | Lefteris Bochoridis | Ioannis Bourousis |
| Linos Chrysikopoulos | Nikos Ghikas | Haris Giannopoulos | Dimitrios Katsivelis |
| Giannoulis Larentzakis | Vangelis Mantzaris | Vangelis Margaritis | Konstantinos Mitoglou |
| Ioannis Papapetrou | Christos Saloustros | Panagiotis Vasilopoulos | |
Bourousis carried the team on his back in regulation and finished with 27 points and 8 rebounds at Britain, whereas Athinaiou hit a shot for the ages, a game-winning 3-ball.
Greece (4-0) lead Group H over Israel (2-2), Estonia (2-2) and Great Britain (0-4).
Athinaiou has played in all four games of the Qualifiers, averaging 9.8 points and 26.2 minutes per game. Bourousis, who had 21 points in a home triumph over Estonia and then 15 in a second win over the Brits, has made three appearances.
Ioannis Papapetrou and Vangeli Mantzaris, Olympiacos players that were in Greece's FIBA EuroBasket 2017 team and the squad at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Turin the summer before, are among the 15 and poised to make their first appearances on the Road to China.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo, with one Qualifier game under his belt and also a member of the team the previous two summers, is also back in the squad after helping Panathinaikos win the Greek title with a 3-2 series triumph over Olympiacos.
Other squad members include Panagiotis Vasilopoulos and Giannoulis Larentzakis, who helped AEK capture the Basketball Champions League crown. Veteran Vasilopoulos has played in all four Qualifiers and has averaged 12.3ppg and Larentzakis has featured in three games, averaging 9.7ppg.
Among the players that did not make themselves available for the third window of games are Panathinaikos playmaker Nick Calathes, Fenerbahce guard Kostas Sloukas and NBA duo Kostas Koufos and Tyler Dorsey.
FIBA
