The Death Group draws first blood as Giannis Antetokounmpo & Co. fall short in their opening encounter. On Day 2 of the Men’s Basketball group stage games, Canada took on Greece. The North American side came into the game as favorites because of its deep roster stacked with NBA players. Nevertheless, Greek Freak’s side stood on their business till the very end but succumbed to a 79-86 loss. However, the Milwaukee Bucks superstar didn’t seem to have lost even a bit of hope, as he dropped a positive message.

Hours after the game, Giannis dropped pictures of himself, donning the Greece national jersey on Instagram. It also carried a heartfelt caption that read, “It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world to be able to put on the jersey and play for your country.”

It’s indeed the greatest feeling for the superstar as he and his teammates ended Greece basketball’s 16-year draught. The last time they made it to this global stage was in 2008. They managed to win 3 of the 5 group-stage games but lost in the quarter-finals against Argentina.

Following that, the Greek side failed to qualify for the next three Olympics. Notably, this year also wasn’t a cakewalk for Giannis Antetokounmpo & Co. They went after Luka Doncic‘s Slovenia in a neck-to-neck affair in the qualifying game. Above all, this qualification turned even more emotion-filled for the Bucks superstar, as he became the first Black athlete to bear the Greek flag in the “parade of nations.”

Dubbing his flag bearer duty his “greatest honor,” and after rough times before immigrating from Nigeria, the 29-year-old has come a long way in his journey, raising the flag high in the parade.

Giannis Antetokounmpo & Co. miss out on a nail-biting win

Team Canada has a stacked roster and always looks threatening on paper. And rightly so, the team did look deadly on the floor as well. The North American side maintained a comfortable lead throughout the game. Thanks to MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and RJ Barrett. The duo put together 44 points, making it a daunting task for the Greek side.

Nevertheless, Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t leave the court without putting up a fight. The superstar entered the arena amidst the roaring ‘MVP MVP MVP’ chants. He did prove those chants to be true, and he just couldn’t his nation across the line. Giannis put up a loaded stat line that looked like this: 34 points (11-17 FG), 12-15 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. In fact, he can even be called a lone warrior in the game. Apart from Kostas Papanikolaou’s 17 points, everyone on the roster scored in single digits.

Despite the lack of support from his teammates, the superstar brought down a 16-point deficit to 2 points with 64 seconds remaining in the clock. However, the Canadian side had enough resources to defend and produced a 79-86 win, opening their account in the Paris Olympics. Team Greece will face Spain in their next encounter on 29th July.

Will Giannis & Co. open their account in their second game? Let us know in the comments.

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