Antetokounmpo joins the Paris Olympics world star list… Greece to advance to the Olympics for the first time in 16 years

NBA superstar Yannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Brewers joined the list of world stars of the Paris Olympics. Greece, Antetokounmpo’s home country, will join the Olympics for the first time in 16 years.

Antetokounmpo-led Greece defeated Croatia 80-69 in the final round of men’s basketball at the 2024 Paris Olympics in Piraeus, Greece, on Thursday. That gave Greece a dramatic flight to Paris, securing a ticket to the Olympic finals, which had only one ticket hanging for Greece’s regional qualifiers.

It is the first time in 16 years that Greece has advanced to the Olympic finals since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Greece defeated Luka Doncic’s Slovenia on the previous day and Croatia, which was classified as an ambush, to take the last train to the Olympics.

Greece’s advance to the Olympics was led by superstar Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo played 28 minutes and 28 seconds in the match against Croatia on Saturday, scoring 23 points and eight rebounds, leading Greece to victory. 파워볼사이트

Antetokounmpo became one of the world’s best players as he was named the MVP of the NBA regular league for two consecutive years in 2019 and 2020. In particular, he won the championship by putting the Milwaukee Bucks at the top of the championship game in the 2020-21 season.

Antetokounmpo, however, failed to perform properly in the NBA Playoffs due to a calf injury. After recovering from the injury, he became the MVP of the qualifying round in Greece.

In addition to Greece, Georgios Papayanis exploded with 19 points, including four 3-pointers, and Nick Calátez scored 14 points to help.

Croatia’s Ivica Zubaci (LA Clippers) worked hard with 19 points and 12 rebounds, but the Olympic finals for the second consecutive tournament failed following the Tokyo Olympics 2021.

The finals for men’s basketball at the Olympics have also been decided. Twelve teams, including defending champions the U.S., Germany, Serbia, Japan, Australia, Canada, South Sudan, Spain, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Greece, have been on the stage.