Story translated from Greece's Sport24. Written by Anastasis Karmousadakis; Photos by Francesca Giaitzoglou Watkinson.
Giannis established the rendezvous with a tweet: "Let's go for basketball. Tomorrow whomever feels like it come at the court of Tritonas in Sepolia. Tomorrow at 19.00"
The next day the legendary court of Diraheiou Street restored to its glory days. It wasn't just a pick-up game. It was a huge party for the return of Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo where it all began. The place were "Mr. Giannis" or "Greek Freak" sounds more odd than "Where you at Giannaki" (little Giannis).
The moments before the big event
It was an hour before the event and everything seemed normal in Diraheiou Street. In the two courts the youth teams of Tritonas were practicing. Kids were running up and down shooting under the barks of their coaches. But, something in the air seemed strange. Different. An old man was passing by and asked, "What's going on, guys" when an excited youngster shouted, "Giannis and Thanasis are coming to play with us."
A few moments later more than 500 people crowed in the cement stands, 300 of them kids, which are dreaming someday to become like Giannis and Thanasis when they close their eyes.
Our Giannis became friends with everybody
"Mama, I want to become like him" you could hear here and there. "Do you remember when Johnny was going for a lay-up and Thanasis blocked the shot in the back-board" somebody recalled. "He still sees the block in his sleep" the guy next to him answered. Many wishes, many dreams, many hopes gathered in one place, under the two big smiles of Giannis and Thanasis, two kids from Sepolia, Athens. They are not only representing Sepolia, they are representing all of Greece. It's our former teammates, our former opponents and our newest best friends. They might living the American Dream, but never forget where they came from and are proving that they are "two guys from the block", "two Greeks like each and every one of us".
Slum Dunk!
The game starts! The crowd celebrates and shouts out at every chance they get. The fans are enjoying the players from Sepolia, which are just lent in Milwaukee and New York. A "wowwwwwwwwww" comes after every dunk. The moments are magical. Giannis and Thanasis are really enjoying themselves. It’s a private basketball show for their neighbors and their friends from Sepolia.
Moments of joy and hope
Time flies, but nobody wants to pass the iron door and go outside. Not before one last play, one last dunk. More and more people are coming. After the game the Antetokounmpo’s throw basketballs with their signature on them into the crowd. Wherever you turned your head you could see raised hands and mouths shouting "Here! Here! Here!" Is there a more beautiful scene than the one of happy young faces jumping up and down full of excitement?
The most beautiful problem
The basketball show is over and the players headed back to the locker-room. Vicky Petraki, the female coach of Tritonas youth teams, concedes, "I don't know what I will do tomorrow when every kid comes back and to try to do whatever Giannis did today. How can I talk to them about dribbling and passing? All of them will think only about dunks". A beautiful problem combined with a huge smile, and a hidden hope. If those kids work hard enough they can follow Giannis’ path. They only thing they need to make a fire, is the spark that Giannis and Thanasis gave them.
- By Anastasis Karamousadakis
