The international exhibition in Berlin hid a surprise for the men’s national team and the Greek basketball fans. As announced by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the United Arab Emirates and USA Basketball, a major tournament will be held in Abu Dhabi from August 18th to 20th, in which the Greek national team, Team USA and Germany will take part.

This special tournament takes place a few days before the 2023 World Cup, which takes place from August 25th to September 10th, and will be the last preparatory matches of the teams before traveling to either the Philippines, Japan or Indonesia. It is recalled that Greece has a good chance of becoming the head of one of the 8 groups, with the draw scheduled for April 29th.

According to the schedule, Greece meets the USA on August 18th and Germany on August 19th. On the last day of the tournament, the USA will meet Germany on August 20th.

It was an agreement long in progress and the purpose was due to be announced today (8/3) by all concerned, but the Hellenic Federation, which attended the national mourning (offices are closed today), did nothing official on its part .

For his part, Vangelis Liolios has been in Berlin since yesterday (July 3rd) and his presence had been planned for that day for a long time. That is, when the agreement was concluded for this important tournament and it could not be postponed, since it was included in the actions of the Abu Dhabi agency responsible for the international tourism fair held in Berlin.

“The past week has been very difficult for Greek society due to the tragic train accident that killed 57 people. From this position, I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the families of the victims‘ commented Vangelis Liolios first in his speech at the event, adding:

“On today’s news, I would like to thank you for the invitation. The national teams of the USA, Germany and Greece have qualified for the World Cup, which will be held in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. The tournament in which we will participate is the last stop before the official games.

It is a historic and special tournament being held in Abu Dhabi for the first time and it is a great honor for the Hellenic Basketball Federation to take part. I am sure that the organization is at a very high level and that we will see matches of world interest with the presence of all the big stars from these three national teams.

It is important to us that we take part in this celebration of basketball. The best tournament in a hospitable country with three of the best national teams in the world. I’m excited and looking forward to it”.

For his part, USA Basketball CEO Jim Tully said: “We are grateful to the Greek and German Football Associations for their participation in the tournament as we prepare for the 2023 World Cup, arguably the most difficult tournament.”

This special event is certainly further proof of his status Men’s National Team is steadily increasing, with the EEC providing the competitive framework for the preparation with this step, without of course not being able to overlook the commercial exploitation of these games thanks to the presence of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Recall that it has already been announced that Greece will face Luka Doncic’s Slovenia in two very strong friendlies, with the first one scheduled on August 2nd in Ljubljana and the second on August 4th at the OAKAin a further step that combines the competitive with the commercial part, in a new era for Greek basketball.