By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos was going to be the first team in Euroleague which was punished into playing home games without fans, but as the Greens announced the competition organizers decided to alter its decision.
Panathinaikos will host Laboral Kutxa on the 2nd gameday of the regular season in the capital of Cyprus, Nicosia, and Lokomotiv Kuban on the 4th gameday in the city of Heraklion in the island of Crete. According to the new Euroleague ruling, the Greens are obliged to use a gym 300 klm away from their home court and that’s what they did.
As Jordi Bertomeu is quoted saying in Panathinaikos press release: “We decided this change in the ruling, thinking about the fans and also the new competition rules which will be applied from this season. We are hoping that the incidents which led to this punishment in the first place will not be repeated in the future. We are also hoping that we are turning a negative situation to something positive for the fans in Crete and Cyprus”.