Spanoulis philosophical about changes in Greece squad

Vassilis Spanoulis of Greece (Photo credit: FIBA)Photo Gallery>>Vassilis Spanoulis sounded like a leader on the first day of Greece's preparations for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The explosive Panathinaikos guard, an important member of the side that won gold at EuroBasket 2005 and silver at EuroBasket 2006, will have a prominent role on the floor and, it appears, in the dressing room as well.

Asked on Monday about the fact that players from recent squads are no longer with the Greeks (Nikos Hatzivrettas, Lazaros Papadopoulos, captain Michalis Kakiouzis and Dimos Ntikoudis), Spanoulis said: "Whether we like it or not, we have to take as granted the fact that some players stay, others go, others decide to stop or a few simply and unavoidably grow older.

"That's life. On the other hand, we have some new additions that have been called."

Newcomers include Kostas Koufos, the highly-rated American-born center who is projected to be a first-round pick in the NBA draft after just one season at Ohio State University.

Koufos was the most valuable player of the U18 European Championship last year, leading Greece to a silver medal.

Other newcomers in the preliminary squad are Vassilis Xanthopoulos (Panionios), Dimitris Tsaldaris (Aris), Yannis Kalampokis (Panionios), Yorgos Printezis (Olympiacos) and Ian Vouyoukas (Olympiacos).

"The most important thing is that we bind as a team," Spanoulis said.

"We have the time to get to know each other on the court and we are committed to bringing to life our first and foremost aim which is our qualification to Beijing."

Greece have the advantage of hosting the FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament in Athens.

Three spots for the Beijing Games are still up for grabs and most people expect the Greeks to take one of them.

"The goal of our team is our qualification for the Olympic Games," he said.

"We have gathered for the preparations, we have a big tournament ahead and I find it hard to believe that someone would not want to be present at the Olympic Games.

"It is a very big honor for someone to take part, but we do have the preliminary round first to deal with."

In Group A, Greece, who are still coached by Panagiotis Yannakis, will take on Brazil and Lebanon.

If they reach the quarter-finals, they will take on Germany, New Zealand or Cape Verde.

"The Olympic Games are still quite far away from our reach at this very moment in time," Spanoulis added.

"What is vital now for us is to get as well prepared as possible so as to bring the dream closer to our grasp."

(Credit: FIBA. Click here for further information.)