ATHENS (EuroBasket 2015) - Turn the clock back to 2004 and you will have the beginning of a special streak in Greek basketball.

That year is when Nikos Zisis became a regular in the country's national team.

He has played for the Greeks every summer since.

Who better, then, to assess Greece's chances for next year when they try to return to the podium at the EuroBasket and stay in the hunt for a spot in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics than Zisis?

The Greeks recently discovered they are to play the Group Phase at EuroBasket 2015 in Zagreb against hosts Croatia, Slovenia, F.Y.R. of Macedonia (MKD), the Netherlands and Georgia.

"In our group, there are stong teams such as Croatia and Slovenia," Zisis said. "We know them both and they know us. Both teams will have their fans on their side. 

"We also know Georgia. It has five to six really good players, one of them is my teammate in Unics (Viktor Sanikidze). Probably their weakness is the depth of the roster. 

"But any given day they can hurt any opponent. 

"Netherlands is the X-factor. I honestly know nothing about the team right now, but we have the time to learn. 

"Then there's the F.Y.R of Macedonia (MKD). We have faced each other in the past. We'll have to wait to see the roster of the team, plus we have to be careful since it's our opener. 

"We know there are surprises waiting around the corner in every opener. It will be an important game."

For Zizis, the 2015 campaign should be better for one very important reason.

After many changes over the last three to four years, it's good to know that we are going to have the same philosophy from the bench. - Zisis

"It's really important for all of us that we are going to have the same coach (Fotis Katsikaris)," he said. 

Since Panagiotis Giannakis ended a long spell in charge after the 2008 Olympics, the Greeks have had Jonas Kazlauskas (EuroBasket 2009, 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup), Elias Zouros (EuroBasket 2011, 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament), Andrea  Trinchieri (EuroBasket 2013) and Katsikaris (2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup).

This past summer at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, Greece won all five of their games in the Group Phase.

"To be honest, I didn't expect us to become that good in such a short time last year," Zisis said. "It's a big plus for us looking to the future and EuroBasket 2015." 

What spoiled the summer was that Greece fell to Serbia in the first game of the Final Phase. 

"We all wanted something better in Spain, but we hope to get it this year in EuroBasket…" Zisis said.

Much of Greece's chances depends on who plays.

Vassilis Spanoulis could not play last year, and Kostas Koufos backtracked on an initial commitment to play.

We'll talk about the opponents, but it's also important to take a good look in our team. - Zisis 

"We have to wait to see if everybody will be okay and ready to play. 

"We have seen the previous years that some players couldn't and some players wouldn't play for the national team. 

"The ones who will be in the training camp are the ones who really want to play for the national team. 

"We want to get to the starting line with the same dream: To get where we couldn't get these last years. We made a great effort last year, but we stumbled and fell in the first knock out game."

FIBA