Cyprus roaring to go following four-year wait
NICOSIA (FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers) – Cyprus dream of reaching a historical milestone in this summer's FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers, as they have never participated in the Final Round.
NICOSIA (FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers) – Cyprus dream of reaching a historical milestone in this summer's FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers, as they have never participated in the Final Round and punching their ticket to next year's big tournament would be an an unprecedented success. To many players on the Cypriot national team however, simply stepping out for the Qualifiers Group A opener in Belgium on 31 August will be an emotionally charged occasion.
"We need to give everything we have and if we stay healthy and our fans help us with their support maybe they could even propel us to a historical qualification for the EuroBasket" - Panagiotis Giannaras
Cyprus had put their senior national team programme on hold after taking part during summer 2012 in the qualifying campaign for FIBA EuroBasket 2013. To veterans like Panagiotis Trisokkas, who was 32-years-old at the time, it felt like a devastating development since it seemed unlikely they would get another shot at that elusive maiden EuroBasket.
"I want to thank the management of the federation for the efforts they've made since taking office, they assist us players any way they can and we are so pleased," Trisokkas, who will be the captain of the Cypriot national team in this summer's Qualifiers said in an interview with basketball.org.cy. In addition to Belgium, the Cypriots will go up in Group A against another team which played at FIBA EuroBasket 2015 in Iceland, as well as Switzerland.
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— Cyprus Basketball (@BasketCyprus) June 10, 2016
"I think Belgium is the favourite for first place in this group," said Trisokkas. "As Cypriot players we know who we are and what we can do, so we need to keep our head down and work hard. We believe in ourselves. I think that thanks to the work we will do in preparations we will present a team that will be ready to fight for the flag. We hope to not have any injuries and we are awaiting the return of Anthony King, who is currently in the US, because he will help the team enormously."
Cyprus will conduct part of their preparations in Romania where they will face the FIBA EuroBasket co-hosts in a warm-up game. The Cypriots have also penned in friendlies with Estonia, Qatar and Albania.
"The guys are in great spirits and we are eager to take to the court and try to exceed ourselves," said Cyprus head coach Panagiotis Giannaras. "If we manage to do that we would aim at second place, behind the theoretical group favourite which is Belgium. We need to give everything we have and if we stay healthy and our fans help us with their support maybe they could even propel us to a historical qualification for the EuroBasket."
FIBA