MILAN (Italy) - All six teams have the same kind of motto as they arrive in Milan. Italy, Greece, Croatia, Estonia, Great Britain and Ukraine all want to end their long runs of failing to reach the podium.

Greece last climbed the rostrum back in 2009 in Poland, edging out Slovenia in the battle for third. Italy grabbed their last FIBA EuroBasket medal back in 2003, and Croatia got it way back in 1995. Estonia, Ukraine and Great Britain never reached a top three finish at the continental summit.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo in their lineup, Greece are looking like strong favorites to win the group. Italy will rely on the home court and the home crowd to bounce back from a Danilo Gallinari injury, while Croatia need something to build upon after failing to reach the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Second Round.

Ukraine, Estonia and Great Britain all had more than impressive Qualifiers campaigns to book their spot in Italy, now it's a matter of turning those good vibes into something bigger by booking tickets to the chartered flight to Berlin for the Elimination Phase.

World rank	Country	Zone rank	Current points
9.	Greece	6.	650.9
10.	Italy	7.	645.1
21.	Croatia	13.	469.8
32.	Ukraine	16.	331.4
45.	Great Britain	23.	248.6
48.	Estonia	26.	219.2

Team to beat: Greece

The time is now. Greece put together their most impressive roster in a long time, with the unstoppable Giannis Antetokounmpo as their biggest star. All of his brothers were there to start the training camp, but according to the Media Survey, the Milwaukee Bucks superstar is not the sole reason for Greece to go on a long run.

That's because Dimitris Itoudis was voted the best coach heading into the event, getting 27.8 percent of the votes, exactly the double amount of the votes Svetislav Pesic received in the survey. When you see his trophy collection with two EuroLeague titles as head coach and five more as an assistant, it's easy to see why there's optimism for the Itoudis and Antetokounmpo combo.

It's going to be a bit of a deja vu for Giannis and Greece, facing the likes of Croatia and Italy in Italy. Back in 2016, all three were in Turin for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, with Croatia ending up victorious and booking a ticket to Rio de Janeiro. Both Greece and Italy will consider this group as a chance to erase those painful memories.

Player to watch: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Sure, it could've been Bojan Bogdanovic for Croatia or Simone Fontecchio for Italy. It could've been any of Estonian high profile prospects, or it could've been Ukraine's Alex Len and Svi Mikhailiuk. It could've been the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 efficiency leader Gabe Olaseni, but in reality, once Giannis Antetokounmpo entered the chat, there was nobody else left to suggest in this department.

The 27-year-old already has an NBA title to his name, won as the Finals MVP, with two more Regular Season MVP awards and six NBA All-Star and All-NBA team selections. The scary part is that he's improving, he averaged a career-high 29.9 points per game last season, and another career-high with 31.7 points per game in the Playoffs.

He could make the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 personal, too. Going up against Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic, it seems we could have a full on battle for bragging rights on who is the biggest international star in basketball right now.

Group C team profiles

Greece: From barely making it to the FIBA EuroBasket 2022, to being one of the top contenders to go all the way.

Estonia: The nation's long term plans of investing into academies and basketball schools is beginning to pay off.

Ukraine: High hopes after another successful Qualifiers run for coach Ainars Bagatskis and his men.

Great Britain: Time to back up those Qualifiers wins over Germany and Montenegro.

Italy: No Danilo Gallinari, time for new national hero Simone Fontecchio to shine at home.

Croatia: Up to the Himalayas, down to the Marianas Trench, you never know what to expect from this squad.

The games in Milan tip off on Friday, September 2. Full schedule is available here.