Tournament favourites Greece have reached the last 16 with five victories – but Giannis Antetokounmpo, who seems to have been injured, has been a cause for concern. But the all-clear has now been given.
Antetokounmpo was substituted in the final group game against Estonia (90:69) after 19 minutes of play (25 points, five rebounds, four assists). Sitting on the bench, the “Greek Freak” received treatment on his ankle and later left the hall with a slight limp. Greece’s coach Dimitris Itoudis gave the all-clear afterwards. “Giannis should not have been used further anyway,” he explained. “I don’t know why there is such an uproar.”
The NBA star, who put up 41 points in the group game against Ukraine, had been treated with ice packs as usual, “which usually happens behind closed doors”, the 52-year-old said. “Now it happened in public. Everything is fine.”
Antetokounmpo should thus be ready for Greece’s round of 16 clash with the Czech Republic in Berlin on Sunday (8.45pm). The two-time European champions could then face Germany in the quarter-finals.
