After Greece’s 16-year wait ends in a loss, Giannis Antetokounmpo speaks out about his Olympic debut: “Greatest Feeling in the World.”

The road to Tokyo was not easy for the Greek team. They secured their Olympic spot after a hard-fought qualifier against Luka Doncic’s Slovenia, where Antetokounmpo made history as the first Black athlete to carry the Greek flag during the opening ceremony’s “parade of nations.”

After 16 years, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Greek national basketball team had a rough start to their Olympics. On Day 2 of the Men’s Basketball group stage, they lost to Canada by a score of 79–86. Even though Greece lost, the great player for the Milwaukee Bucks talked about how proud and hopeful he was to have played for his country on such a big stage.

Antetokounmpo wrote about the game on Instagram after it was over. He posted pictures of himself in his Greece shirt and wrote, “It’s one of the best feelings in the world to be able to put on the jersey and play for your country.” In his speech, he emphasized how important it was for Greece to go back to the Olympics, which had not happened since 2008. While that event was going on, Greece won three of their five group stage games but lost to Argentina in the quarterfinals.

The Greek team had a hard time getting to Tokyo. They made it to the Olympics after a tough qualifying game against Luka Doncic’s Slovenia. Antetokounmpo made history by being the first Black athlete to carry the Greek flag in the “parade of nations” at the opening ceremony. He said that this job was his “greatest honor,” emphasizing how important it was to him and to the country.

Greece’s 16-year wait ends in defeat, and Giannis Antetokounmpo breaks his silence on his Olympic debut: “Greatest Feeling in the World” 2.

The North American team, which included NBA stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and RJ Barrett, stayed in charge the whole game against Canada. They got 44 points as a team, which made the Greek defense work harder. In spite of this, Antetokounmpo had a great game. He scored 34 points, grabbed five rebounds, and added two assists and a ʂteal. Only one other Greek player, Kostas Papanikolaou, scored more than 10 points. He had 17.

At the 64-second mark, Antetokounmpo helped Greece cut the lead to just two points. However, Canada’s strength and calmness helped them win. The next game for Greece is on July 29 against Spain. They will try to get back on track.