By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Two years after its last travel to China, Panathinaikos will visit again in China for two friendly games.
Panathinaikos Athens is quickly finding a second home in China. The Greens will travel to The Celestial Empire at the end of the month to play exhibition games there for the second time in three years. Panathinaikos will face Zhejiang Lions on Monday, September 28 in Hangzhou and two days later will tip off against Guangdong Tigers in Macau in the Euroleague Basketball Asia Tour.
The impetus for the games in 2013 was to visit China with Panathinaikos forward Shang Ping, who was the first player from China on a European professional team. After getting that taste, the remaining players and team executives from two years ago are all eager to visit again and continue their role as Turkish Airlines Euroleague ambassadors in Asia. Chief among them is forward Vladimir Jankovic, who was taking his first steps with the team when they previously played in China and he loved every minute of it.
“If I could turn back time for a moment and remember our first experience in China, I would have only beautiful feelings,” Jankovic said. “The Chinese people greeted us warmly and were hospitable and we discovered a very special and interesting culture.”
Jankovic believes that the trip is about much more than basketball. “We have to learn from every place we travel and visit; we are world citizens and basketball can reduce distances and open borders,” Jankovic said.
Moreover, Jankovic is aware and proud of his role as an ambassador on the trip: “We are representing Panathinaikos, the most successful club in Europe this century. We are representing the Turkish Airlines Euroleague, a giant and competitive organization that has gained global attention. We are also representing Greek basketball, which has so many successes at the club and national level like no other sport in our country.”
Before packing his bags, Jankovic wanted to send a message to basketball fans in China, whom he is excited to see: “Nihao! That is ‘hello’ in Chinese. I want to greet our friends in China who will come to see us in both games against the Zhejiang Lions on September 28 in the city of Hangzhou and on September 30 with the Guangdong Tigers in the city of Macau. We are [looking forward to] these games and we will do everything to make sure the fans have a great time. We are still in our preseason, but we will play seriously as we would in official games and we must be ready.”