Greece will treat Great Britain’s men as “dangerous” when they visit Newcastle on Thursday.
The visitors will be minus head coach Sotiris Manolopoulos in the opening FIBA World Cup qualifier at the Vertu Motors Arena.
Having missed club duties with Peristeri last week, it has been confirmed he is out of the Tyneside trip after testing positive for Covid, leaving his assistant, Savvas Kamperidis, to step in.
Haris Giannopoulos will captain the side which will also face Belarus on November 28 in Thessaloniki.
“Great Britain is unknown, but not as weak as many people consider,” said Kamperidis at a media session on Tuesday in Athens.
“It is a dangerous opponent. It has a backbone for many years and young players who are experienced and competing in good leagues. It is also full-strength, with no absentees from players playing in the EuroLeague. We have prepared properly and now he have to be able to perform on the court.”
Michalis Lountzis of Olympiacos and Vassilis Kavvadas of Panathinaikos have been released to feature in a squad of 14, although the latter’s club-mate Leonidas Kaselakis has withdrawn.
“We have with us Lountzis and Kavvadas, who are important units for us,” said Kamperidis. “They have experience from European competitions but also the national team and I believe that they will help us do what we have to do.”
Guards: Katsivelis, Gikas, Lountzis, Mouratos, Kalaitzakis
Forwards: Agravanis, Giannopoulos (c), Chrisikopoulos, Saloustros, Rogavopoulos, Hougaz, Kouzeloglou
Centres: Kavvadas, Kaklamanakis, Gontikas
GB will not name their roster until Wednesday evening. The game – and GB’s trip to Turkey on Sunday – will be shown on the BBC Red Button and iPlayer.
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