By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
SYROS – With Stoiximan AegeanBall Festival approaching the main event with the household names of the VIP League, Kostas Sloukas made his move, elsewhere in Greece. His decision carried an impact on Greek and European basketball but ultimately fell short of a significant hit on the fifth edition of the event created by Giorgos Printezis.
Olympiacos captain Kostas Papanikolaou was in Syros. After edging out teammate Giannoulis Larentzakis in the Adidas Three-Point Contest, a nice fit in the packed schedule and generating additional excitement, he talked to Eurohoops, the official partner of AegeanBall Festival.
“The success of the event becomes apparent from the fans packing the stands,” the former player of the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets praised Printezis, the previous Olympiacos captain until deciding to retire in 2022, “Every year, it is a full house.”
Sloukas, 33, left Olympiacos for a second time in his career and elected to join archrival Panathinaikos.
“I would prefer to focus on what we have here. This is not the moment. In a great atmosphere, we are having a great time,” Papanikolaou told Eurohoops, “There is no reason to expand on anything else.”
Apart from Sloukas switching from the Reds to the Greens, Sasha Vezenkov joined the Sacramento Kings. Other departing players are Joel Bolomboy and Tarik Black.
On the opposite route, Nikola Milutinov and Nigel Williams-Goss reunited with Olympiacos and experienced forward Luke Sikma also moved in for the team coached by Giorgos Bartzokas.
Papanikolaou, 32, is among the returning players. He is set for his 13th campaign with the Reds.