By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Dimitris Diamantidis has retired, he will be honored in a preparation tournament held in Athens and dedicated to him and Maccabi Tel Aviv with a press release explained what this tournament means to the Israeli club.
Dimitris Diamantidis has made a name for himself as one of Europe’s all-time great basketball players. Throughout the years, he faced Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv on many occasions and above all feelings of rivalry and competiveness, stood a great degree of mutual respect.
Now that Diamantidis, age 36, is retiring, it’s time to show that respect. Maccabi will take part in a special pre-season tournament dedicated to honor and celebrate the career of Diamantidis. The tournament will take place at the 16th and 17th of September in Greece. It will feature a ceremony during which Diamantidis’ jersey will be raised to the ceiling of OAKA, the home of Panathinaikos, as well as several matches. Maccabi will play PAO (16th, 21:00) and Barcelona (17th, 18:30).
Erez Edelstein, head coach of Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv: “We are very happy to take part in a tournament dedicated to Dimitris Diamantidis. We didn’t hesitate for a minute when we were invited to participate. We are honored and look forward to representing our fans who always knew to appreciate a great player such as Diamantidis, as evident by the applause that were given to him in our gym, even as a rival. For us, this will be a great chance to prepare for a long and hard season. I’m sure the crowd will provide a great atmosphere”.
Maccabi team captain, Guy Pnini, added: “Diamantidis has a rich and wonderful history playing against Maccabi. We beat him, got beaten by him and i can tell you, as someone who faced him many times, there was always a level of respect that derived from him being a true winner, a world class defender and a basketball master mind”.
“For us, this tournament will provide an opportunity to test ourselves against top Euroleague opposition”.