Greece could be forced to compete in the 2022 FIBA EuroBasket without its star big man Giorgos Papagiannis, per Gazzetta.gr.
The young center of Panathinaikos is dealing with a muscular issue in the posterior femur and hasn’t practiced with the team yet.
Papagiannis underwent an MRI that didn’t show significant improvement, therefore he will be out for another two weeks.
The target is for him to be ready to play in the Second Round of the Basketball World Cup Qualifiers in late August (25 and 28) and then travel with the team to Milano for the group stage of the EuroBasket.
If Panathinaikos’ center misses the tournament, then Giannis Antetokounmpo will have significant playing time in the “5” position, along with his brother, Kostas.
Greece will play a total of five preparation games ahead of the tournament, while they will face Serbia (road, August 25) and Belgium (home, August 28) for the Qualifiers.
Greece will travel to Milano in late August for the group stage of the EuroBasket, where they will take on hosts Italy, Estonia, Great Britain, Ukraine and Croatia.
