GRE - Vassilis Xanthopoulos - `A tremendous experience’

ATHENS (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men) - Being a national team player is nothing new to Vassilis Xanthopoulos.

On the contrary, the 24-year-old guard already has 75 international caps in the Greece jersey, having captured the silver medal at the 2005 FIBA U21 World Championship for Men and bronze at the 2003 FIBA World Championship for Junior Men.

However, when it comes to the senior team that he has joined this summer, he’s still a rookie.

It is a reward for his career in the junior national teams, which he led from the point guard position, and also for his successful season with Panionios, the club he helped capture a Euroleague spot for 2008-09.

Even with his great run in Greece’s domestic league this season which saw Panionios beat Maroussi to third place in a thrilling play-off series, Xanthopoulos found it hard to believe what he was hearing after receiving a phone call to invite him to the men’s national team.

“It has finally sunk in now,” he says, “and I have to confess that things are even better than I imagined.

“It’s a tremendous experience, like no other.”

There is no doubt, judging from the look on his face, that the having the chance to compete for a place in the squad that will play at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens is an opportunity of a lifetime.

“First of all, the fact that all these great players have gathered here, plus a very important factor - the atmosphere is simply fantastic. It’s pretty much a family environment.

“Everything we always hear about the national team, the guys, the characters, the group, is true. Everyone is trying to incorporate me and the other rookies into this ‘family’.

“And personally speaking, I have got to say that all of the guys have been incredible towards me.”

Xanthopoulos was not a stranger to many of the players in team, though.

He was on the books of Panathinaikos – a club with several players in the national team - and celebrated the triple crown last year before moving on loan to Panionios for the 2007-08 campaign.

“Knowing most guys, either from the junior national teams or from Panathinaikos, is very important for me,” he says.

National team coach Panagiotis Yannakis helped bring a great attitude to the team when he took the reins shortly before the 2004 Olympics.

That spirit and camaraderie, and hard work are there for all to see when Greece’s national team is in training, or in a game.

“It’s the perfect combination,” Xanthopoulos says.

“There is indeed a lot of hard work, and this year in particular we don’t have too much time to prepare ourselves.

“We have to put in loads of things in virtually just one week.

“We are all doing our best to train as efficiently as possible so that the national team is ready for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, in order to achieve the big goal, which is nothing other than qualifying for the Olympic Games.

“We are indeed a company and a good one as well; there are certainly moments of relaxation, but only when we step off the floor.”

FIBA