Greeks Celebrate Milwaukee Team's NBA Championship
2021-07-22
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1As the Milwaukee Bucks were about to win the NBA basketball championship Tuesday, people in Greece were watching closely.
2With less than a minute left in the game, Yiannis Tzikas was getting ready to celebrate.
3"It's over. No one can turn this game now," he said.
4His hands were shaking as he prepared to open a bottle of champagne, an alcoholic drink often served for celebrations.
5Tzikas runs the Kivotos Café in Sepolia, a town in the Athens area.
6Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo used to get a sandwich and a drink at the restaurant on his way to play basketball as a teenager.
7Tzikas opened the café to watch Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the championship series of the National Basketball Association.
8Antetokounmpo is known as the "Greek Freak."
9He led the Milwaukee team to its first championship in 50 years.
10The team defeated the Phoenix Suns 105 to 98.
11After the game ended, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted a message on social media: "Incredible Giannis! Greeks everywhere celebrate!"
12Antetokounmpo finished with 50 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots. He was named the most valuable player of the series.
13"This is Giannis' moment. He earned it and we're proud of him," Tzikas said.
14The final game was played in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
15There is an eight hour difference from Athens.
16The game started at four o'clock in the morning local time.
17But Tzikas' cafe was filled with local basketball fans, along with Antetokounmpo's old supporters and friends in Sepolia.
18They sat concerned through the first half of the game as Phoenix was winning.
19But the crowd came to life later as Milwaukee pulled ahead.
20Kyriacos Hager watched while wearing Giannis' jersey.
21"[Antetokounmpo] has brought back sporting role models to this generation," he said.
22"He's no longer Giannis from Sepolia, he's Giannis of the entire world, an inspiration to a lot of people."
23Tzikas' Café has a wall of framed memorabilia from the Antetokounpmo family.
24There are autographed jerseys and basketballs from the Bucks and the Greek national team.
25The restaurant is close to where Antetokounmpo and his brothers, Thanasis, Kostas and Alex, grew up.
26Giannis' three brothers also play professional basketball.
27Their parents were immigrants from Nigeria and gave their four boys Greek names.
28Tzikas said Giannis always stops by the cafe when he visits Greece.
29He said his personality has not changed even with his fame.
30"He was always simple, humble, and polite and when he grew up, he never forgot where he started," he said.
31"He had a lot against him. He was poor and he was a different color than the rest of us and he made it...He believed in his dream and he made it happen."
32I'm Dan Friedell.
1As the Milwaukee Bucks were about to win the NBA basketball championship Tuesday, people in Greece were watching closely. 2With less than a minute left in the game, Yiannis Tzikas was getting ready to celebrate. 3"It's over. No one can turn this game now," he said. His hands were shaking as he prepared to open a bottle of champagne, an alcoholic drink often served for celebrations. 4Tzikas runs the Kivotos Café in Sepolia, a town in the Athens area. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo used to get a sandwich and a drink at the restaurant on his way to play basketball as a teenager. 5Tzikas opened the café to watch Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the championship series of the National Basketball Association. 6Antetokounmpo is known as the "Greek Freak." He led the Milwaukee team to its first championship in 50 years. The team defeated the Phoenix Suns 105 to 98. 7After the game ended, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted a message on social media: "Incredible Giannis! Greeks everywhere celebrate!" 8Antetokounmpo finished with 50 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots. He was named the most valuable player of the series. 9"This is Giannis' moment. He earned it and we're proud of him," Tzikas said. 10The final game was played in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There is an eight hour difference from Athens. The game started at four o'clock in the morning local time. But Tzikas' cafe was filled with local basketball fans, along with Antetokounmpo's old supporters and friends in Sepolia. 11They sat concerned through the first half of the game as Phoenix was winning. But the crowd came to life later as Milwaukee pulled ahead. 12Kyriacos Hager watched while wearing Giannis' jersey. "[Antetokounmpo] has brought back sporting role models to this generation," he said. "He's no longer Giannis from Sepolia, he's Giannis of the entire world, an inspiration to a lot of people." 13Tzikas' Café has a wall of framed memorabilia from the Antetokounpmo family. There are autographed jerseys and basketballs from the Bucks and the Greek national team. 14The restaurant is close to where Antetokounmpo and his brothers, Thanasis, Kostas and Alex, grew up. Giannis' three brothers also play professional basketball. Their parents were immigrants from Nigeria and gave their four boys Greek names. 15Tzikas said Giannis always stops by the cafe when he visits Greece. He said his personality has not changed even with his fame. 16"He was always simple, humble, and polite and when he grew up, he never forgot where he started," he said. "He had a lot against him. He was poor and he was a different color than the rest of us and he made it...He believed in his dream and he made it happen." 17I'm Dan Friedell. 18Derek Gatopoulos and Theodora Tongas reported this story for The Associated Press. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 19___________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21freak - adj. not natural, normal, or likely 22rebound -n. the act of getting the basketball after a shot is missed; 23jersey - n. a loose shirt worn by a member of a sports team as part of a uniform 24inspiration - n. something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create 25memorabilia - n. objects or materials that are collected because they are related to a particular event, person, etc. : things collected as remembrances of a past trip or activity 26autograph - n. the signature of a famous person 27humble - adj. not thinking of yourself as better than other people 28polite -adj. having or showing good manners and respect for other people