Tens of fans gathered at the Athens International Airport on Monday afternoon to welcome the men’s national basketball team upon their arrival from Latvia, where they won the bronze medal in the 2025 EuroBasket 2025 tournament.
The team’s coach, Vassilis Spanoulis, told reporters at the airport, “Very warm welcome, as this team deserves. We wanted to bring basketball back to the top again. This generation deserved it. Thank you very much, and I hope this medal brings basketball back to its golden days.”
Greece’s captain, Kostas Papanikolaou, stated, “Thank you for the welcome; we have been experiencing very beautiful emotions since yesterday. The messages of love we received, even after the loss to Turkey, were moving. Their positive energy helped us achieve this result. We hope that with this success, we can enter the homes of Greeks, bring smiles, and inspire the new generation to love basketball. Basketball is one, united, and under the roof of the National Team. We hope the best is still ahead of us.”
The Greek delegation arrived at the airport to the sounds of the iconic song “The Final Countdown,” linked to the national basketball team’s very first gold medal in 1987 when Greece beat the USSR (103-101) in Athens.
This was the first time the national team secured a podium spot after 16 years at EuroBasket, having won the bronze medal again after 2009.
Under the guidance of Vassilis Spanoulis, who was instrumental in bringing out the best in his players on the court, Greece exceeded expectations, achieving an impressive feat considering the limited depth on the bench.
Led by NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and with the help of the old guard, Kostas Sloukas and Kostas Papanikolaou, Greece defeated Finland 92–89 in the third-place playoff of the EuroBasket 2025 and climbed to the third step of the podium, producing some unforgettable moments.
