By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The second season since Panathinaikos OPAP owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos publicly made known his intention to sell the team has begun with a loss to AS Monaco in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and another defeat to Aris in Greece’s Stoiximan Basket League. A poor start to the 2021-22 campaign but with room to recover, as explained by general managers, Fragiskos Alvertis and Dimitris Diamantidis.
“This is a special season. Last season was special too,” pointed out Diamantidis to Greek TV channel Nova, “Dimitris Giannakopoulos departed and revealed his intention to sell the team. The team is still for sale.”
“We all understand that Dimitris Giannakopoulos has left the team, which is still for sale,” confirmed Alvertis, “We are here fighting every day trying to keep the team at the highest possible level, under these circumstances. We hope to keep the team alive. That is our responsibility. We love this team after spending so many years here. It is a complicated situation, but Panathinaikos can surely be successful as a big club and with the support of the fans.”
Under the leadership of the two former players, both legends of the Greens, the Greek powerhouse looks struggling to get things going, despite actually capturing the Greek Super Cup title thanks to wins over Lavrio Megabolt and Promitheas during the preseason. They took over their front office roles prior to the start of the 2020-21 season. From there, Panathinaikos ranked 16th in the EuroLeague and won both the domestic League and Cup.
“We came in understanding the situation wanting to help the team, which provided us so much over the years,” added Diamantidis. “The start to the new season is far from ideal, but we must look forward and remain optimistic to keep Panathinaikos at the highest level. With the support of the fans, we can go through the season, indeed challenging. I think we can be successful if we all stay united.”