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Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo to miss FIBA World Cup

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Greece" s="" Giannis="" Antetokounmpo="" in="" action="" against="" Dennis="" Schroeder="" and="" Daniel="" Theis="" during="" the="" FIBA="" EuroBasket="" Quarter="" Finals="" match="" between="" Germany="" Greece="" at="" Arena="" September="" Clemens="" EPA-EFE="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/08/12/20230812-fiba_giannis-antetokounmpo_epa.jpg"/><figcaption>Greece&#x27;s Giannis Antetokounmpo (2-L) in action against Germany&#x27;s Dennis Schroeder (L) and Daniel Theis (R) during the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 Quarter Finals match between Germany and Greece at the EuroBasket Arena Berlin, in Berlin, Germany, September 13, 2022. <em>Clemens Bilan, EPA-EFE/File.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>PARIS, France -- Greece&#x27;s hopes of landing basketball&#x27;s World Cup took a major blow on Friday when their star player Giannis Antetokounmpo announced he will miss the tournament.</p><p>Antetokounmpo underwent knee surgery at the beginning of July and has been absent from Greece&#x27;s preparations for the tournament.</p><p>&quot;Since the conclusion of my NBA season I have been pushing my body to the limits to be the player I need to be to help our team achieve the goals we set,&quot; the 28-year-old Milwaukee Bucks star wrote on social media.</p><p>&quot;After months of work and multiple meetings with medical staff it is clear that I am not ready to compete in the level that I need to be to participate in the World Cup.</p><p>&quot;This was not a choice but my only option in ensuring I get back to the level of basketball I have worked so hard to achieve so far in my career.</p><p>&quot;I am extremely disappointed in this outcome.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/06/23/giannis-undergoes-surgery-fiba-world-cup-in-doubt">Giannis undergoes surgery, FIBA World Cup in doubt</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/24/23/nba-player-kyle-anderson-obtains-chinese-citizenship">NBA player Kyle Anderson obtains Chinese citizenship</a></li></ul><p>The seven-foot tall (2.13m) small forward began his career with Filathlitikos before a dream move to the NBA with the Bucks in 2013.</p><p>In his social media post, Antetokounmpo underlined his commitment to the Greek team and cast forward to next year&#x27;s Paris Olympics.</p><p>&quot;Everyone knows my passion and love for my national team has and never will change,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;My personal, and our ultimate team goal is to qualify for the 2024 Olympics Games and it will be an honor to represent my national team next year.&quot;</p><p>Without their star player, Greece lost their last two warm-up games against Serbia (64-71) and Italy (70-74) as part of the Acropolis Tournament.</p><p>The World Cup will be played in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia, starting on August 25.</p><p>Greece, led by Dimitris Itoudis, begin their campaign against Jordan a day later in Group C which also contains the USA and New Zealand.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2752572" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Giannis Antetokounmpo underwent knee surgery at the beginning of July and has been absent from Greece's preparations for the FIBA World Cup.