Israel will tipoff against Greece in Eurobasket Round of 16 play on Sunday night (21:45) as they will look to advance to the quarterfinals where Lithuania will be waiting. As the blue-and-white put the final touches on their preparations for 2x NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Itay Segev spoke about the challenge at hand.

“They’re one of the best teams in the tournament, but we’ve shown that we’re capable of beating any opponent. In tournaments like this, no game is decided in advance. The pressure is on them, we’re coming in as underdogs, looking to play aggressively and give it our all. I believe we can surprise them.”

“A lot of teams around the world are looking for a solution [to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo] and can’t find one,” Segev continued. “He’s the best player in the world. It’s going to have to be a team effort not just against him, but also against the other quality players Greece has. We’ll need to stay focused and aggressive.”

Israel has their own NBA player in Deni Avdija who has taken a huge stride over the past season as well as in the tournament, “I’m sure they’re also thinking about how to stop Deni. With the tournament he’s having, the stats, the control, the shooting, they’ll have to come up with answers. But again, the pressure’s on them. We’re coming to surprise.”

During the preparation period Israel played a Greece squad that was missing some of their best players and won the game, but that team and the one that they will face on Sunday are quite different, “Back then, they were missing key players, Giannis, Sloukas, Papanikolaou and Mitoglou. Now they’re coming with their strongest squad. It’s going to be a completely different game.”

Segev was emotional when he spoke about seeing the Israeli flag among the 16 teams that advanced to the knockout rounds, “It’s the most moving thing there is, especially in times like these. We have immense pride in representing the country. We don’t forget our brothers who are now in hell, the hostages and the soldiers. We think about them every day and we pray that they all return home safely. If we can bring even a little bit of joy to the people back home that’s the greatest honor there is.”