By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
From introducing the ASB GlassFloor in the 2023 FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup last summer to the 2024 Basketball Champions League Final Four, the cutting-edge technology set to revamp basketball all around the world also went to the NBA All-Star Game and Germany’s easyCredit BBL. The next stop is in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague via defending champion Panathinaikos Aktor.
Moving to the 2024-25 season, the Greens are planning to use the glass floor in OAKA Altion. Besides projected boosts to the roster for the team coached by Ergin Ataman, the innovative surface with plenty of possible features will add to the fan experience at the venue located in Athens. The overall cost is expected to be north of one million euros.
Ending a 13-year drought, Panathinaikos became a seven-time EuroLeague champion in Berlin last May. From ranking second in the Regular Season with a 23-11 W-L tally, Ataman’s side edged out Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in a best-of-five series for a ticket to the Final Four. In the championship-crowning stage, defeating Fenerbahce Beko in the Semifinals and defending champion Real Madrid in the Final completed the path to the latest continental triumph.
Complementing a successful campaign, the Greens also captured the domestic league title after digging their way out of a 2-0 hole in a best-of-five series versus archrival Olympiacos in the Finals of Greece’s Stoiximan Basket League.
Greek outlet SDNA first reported on the plans of Panathinaikos to place a glass floor in OAKA.