Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was unable to participate in Greece’s 93-77 win over Great Britain in the FIBA EuroBasket tournament on Monday due to suffering from knee pain. According to Greece head coach Dimitris Itoudis, the injury is of no major concern.
“He had discomfort in his knee but nothing major,” Itoudis confirmed. “We did not want to risk anything so we did not dress him up today.” Prior to the game against Great Britain, Antetokounmpo played a pivotal role in leading Greece to hard-fought victories over Italy and Croatia to all but secure the team’s place in the knockout phase of the tournament, setting up a perfect 3-0 group phase record in the process.
Itoudis stated that Antetokounmpo is expected to return to the court in time for Greece’s clash with Ukraine on Tuesday. This fixture should provide the Greek squad with ample preparation ahead of the knockout rounds on Saturday, especially since Ukraine is top of Group C due to also maintaining a perfect start to the competition.
In Antetokounmpo’s absence, Kostas Papanikolaou and Michail Lountzis emerged as Greece’s key players against the UK, scoring 10 points each.
