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Antetokounmpo says Greece has 'no ceiling'

Zhijian Liu / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Greece opened its FIBA World Cup schedule with an 85-60 rout of Montenegro on Sunday, with star Giannis Antetokounmpo logging less than 16 minutes of floor time.

After a game that amounted to little more than a warmup, the reigning NBA MVP said the sky is the limit for the Hellenic squad.

"I think that we have no ceiling on this team," Antetokounmpo said, according to Eurohoops. "If we give 100%, we will be good."

Former Sacramento Kings center Georgios Papagiannis led the way for Greece with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while former NBA draft pick Georgios Printezis finished with a game-high 16 points. Antetokounmpo scored 10 in limited action, adding a huge second-half block.

"I think we have a great group of guys," he said. "There's definitely a switch from the older generation to the new generation, but I am not the most important guy in the team ... obviously guys like Papagiannis, Printezis, (Ioannis) Bourousis, (Kostas) Sloukas, (Nick) Calathes, all the guys. I can name everybody on this team. They are all really important, and they can contribute a lot to this team."

Greece remains the consensus team to beat in Group F but will face a stiff test Tuesday against Brazil. As a result, Antetokoumpo waved off questions about a potential second-round matchup with the United States.

"We don't think about the USA team today," he said. "Our next opponent is Brazil. We got to focus on that game. Team USA is far away."

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