GRE - Diamantidis claims Weekly MVP in Greece

ATHENS (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Perhaps no player is more important to Greece in their quest to reach the podium at the 2010 FIBA World Championship than Dimitris Diamantidis of Panathinaikos.

The 29-year-old demonstrated why in his latest game for the Greens, a 98-90 win over Olympiacos in the A1 Ethniki.

Diamantidis had 26 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, a performance that earned him the MVP of the Week award in Greece’s top flight for the second time this season.

Sunday’s victory pulled first-place Pana two games clear of Olympiacos in the standings.

The previous weekend, Diamantidis and Co lost to Olympiacos in the Greek Cup Final and followed that with a home defeat to Barcelona, an outcome that dropped the club to 0-4 in the Euroleague Top 16 and ended the club’s title defense.

“The team cannot achieve two goals, but moves on,” Diamantidis said.

“All we are focusing on is the goal that remains, and so we are all trying with all our strength. We want to win the (Greek) championship.”

Diamantidis made the all-tournament team at EuroBasket 2005 in Belgrade when Greece captured a gold medal and in 2007, he was the MVP of Panathinaikos’ Euroleague Final Four triumph in Athens.

He was named the Euroleague’s best defender in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Individual glory has never mattered to him, though.

“The important thing, what matters, is that the team won,” he said.

Thirty-six media representatives from all over Greece cast votes for the MVP award.

After missing last summer’s EuroBasket following an operation, Diamantidis is expected to return to the Greece squad this summer to play at the FIBA World Championship.

In Ankara, Jonas Kazlauskas’ team will take on the Ivory Coast, Russia, China, Puerto Rico and hosts Turkey in Preliminary Round Group C.

FIBA