By John Rammas/ info@eurohoops.net
At the bottom end of his second year in Greece, Marius Grigonis extended his contract with Panathinaikos instead of becoming a free agent this summer.
The Kaunas native confirmed the deal speaking to the Greek national television following a report by Lithuanian outlet 15min on a done deal for a three-year contract extension.
Grigonis, 29, emerged as a key player for head coach Ergin Ataman during the 2023-24 edition of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Averaging 10.1 points per contest behind 58.4% in field goals, including 43.7% from beyond the arc, his efforts contributed to the Greens being one step away from clinching homecourt advantage in the Playoffs. Besides scoring, he averaged 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game and featured in all 33 contests played in the Regular Season.
Carrying a 22-11 W-L tally, Panathinaikos hosts lowly ALBA Berlin in OAKA Altion to wrap up the 34-game double-legged round-robin schedule on Thursday. A win would clinch homecourt advantage in the Playoffs and boost the bid to qualify for the Final Four in Berlin. The six-time EuroLeague champions have missed out on advancing to the championship tournament since 2012, the last season of a historic tenure of Zeljko Obradovic as the head coach.
Looking to retain first place in the standings through the Top 6 stage of Stoiximan’s Basket League Regular Season, Panathinaikos finished the initial stage at 21-1. Grigonis chipped in 9.8 points per domestic game.