Source: fbu.ua
Greece, Ukraine’s opponent in the opening match of the second round of the 2027 World Cup qualifiers, has announced its squad. The Hellenic Basketball Federation revealed a list of 17 players called up by head coach Vasilis Spanoulis for preparations ahead of the August window.
Ukraine and Greece will face off on August 28 at 16:00 UTC at the Xiaomi Arena in Riga. For Greece, this will be their first game of the second round; they will then host Spain at the T-Center in Athens on August 31. Spanoulis’ team enters Group I with a 3-3 record carried over from the first phase of qualification.
The Greek team’s training camp begins on August 14. As part of their preparations, two friendly matches are scheduled at the T-Center: against Poland on August 22 and Cyprus on August 24.
The most notable absence from the squad is Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Hellenic Basketball Federation emphasized that his withdrawal is not due to financial reasons. Both the federation and coaching staff reached out to him for assistance, but he was unable to participate due to specific circumstances related to the new stage of his career.
Also missing are Alexandros Samandourov, Neoklis Avdalas, and Vangelis Zougris, who all play in the NCAA college league. Despite their willingness to represent the national team, their universities did not grant permission, as attending would have meant expulsion from their academic programs and consequently their collegiate teams, given that these institutions do not offer remote learning options.
Nonetheless, the squad remains strong, featuring veterans like Nick Calathes and Kostas Papanikolaou, both with over 1100 points for Greece, along with Thanasis and Kostas Antetokounmpo, Dinos Mitoglou, Tyler Dorsey, Giannoulis Larentzakis, and others.
The extended roster for Greece is as follows:
Point Guards: Nick Calathes (1.96m, PAOK), Dimitris Moraitis (1.94m, Panathinaikos), Nasos Bazinas (1.94m, PAOK), Dimitris Flionis (1.88m, AEK)
Guards: Tyler Dorsey (1.96m, Olympiacos), Omiros Nedzipoglou (1.95m, Olympiacos), Giannoulis Larentzakis (1.96m, Olympiacos), Panagiotis Kalaidzakis (2.00m, Panathinaikos), Vasilis Toliopoulos (1.87m, Aris)
Forwards: Nikolas Rogavopoulos (2.03m, Panathinaikos), Kostas Papanikolaou (2.04m, Olympiacos), Thanasis Antetokounmpo (2.01m, free agent), Vasilis Charalambopoulos (2.04m, Aris), Antonis Karagiannidis (2.04m, Olympiacos), Nikos Persidis (2.00m, PAOK)
Centers: Dinos Mitoglou (2.10m, Panathinaikos), Kostas Antetokounmpo (2.08m, Aris)
Under the guidance of Ainars Bagatskis, Ukraine’s squad will gather on August 14 in Latvia for a training camp. As part of their preparation, Ukraine will play two friendlies: against the University of Arizona team in Kedainiai, Lithuania, on August 20, and against Latvia’s national team in Riga on August 23. Following these matches, Ukraine will commence their campaign in the second round of European qualification for the World Cup.
Ukraine successfully advanced past the first qualification stage, finishing second in Group A with a record of four wins and two losses.
Consequently, Ukraine carries a 4-2 record into the second round, the second-best in Group I after Spain’s 5-1. The group also includes Montenegro (4-2), Portugal (3-3), Greece (3-3), and Georgia (3-3).
At the conclusion of this second phase, the top three teams from the group will secure qualification for the 2027 World Cup, which will be held in Qatar.
