GRE – Vasileiadis dreams of playing for Greece

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Kostas Vasileiadis admits he has a burning desire to play for Greece at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

The 26-year-old shooting guard, playing in his first season in the ACB with Santiago de Compostela outfit Xacobeo Blu:sens, has been the club's standout player this season and there was certainly no one better in all of Spain last weekend.

Vasileiadis was voted Player of the Week after a 27-point performance in an 86-77 victory over Lagun Aro GBC.

"The Greek national team is an obsession for me," he said.

"I have always wanted to play in it, for the last four or five years. Injuries have burdened me, but now I feel 100% and I think if I keep playing well for my team, I will be called up for the World Championship."

Greece will take on China, Russia, Ivory Coast, Puerto Rico and hosts Turkey in the Preliminary Round in Turkey at the FIBA World Championship, which tips off at the end of August.

Vasileiadis will be back in action this weekend when Xacobeo play at one of his former teams, Unicaja Malaga, the club where Greece international Georgios Printezis is in his first year of Spanish basketball.

While Vasileiadis once stood out for Greece at the at the U20 European Championship in 2004 when he averaged a tournament-best 25.5 points per contest, another of Greece’s former youth stars shone bright on Wednesday night when leading AEK Athens to a 79-77 victory over Panellinios.

AEK’s 29-year-old forward Periklis Dorkofikis had 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists and was voted Player of the Week in the A1 Ethniki.

FIBA