There is growing speculation that Panathinaikos’ basketball team will head Down Under in 2025, with plans to hold the seventh Pavlos Giannakopoulos tournament in Melbourne and Sydney.
Reports from Greek media suggest that the tournament is very likely to come to Australia next year, with provisional plans suggesting they could play KK Partizan in Melbourne on 18 September with two other games against Australian teams in Sydney a few days later.
“The procedures are in the final stages,” ERT noted, adding that the “Trifylli” wants to bring the Greek diaspora closer to Ergin Ataman’s team.
The move would represent a major development for the tournament, named after the team’s former owner and president, building on this year’s event which took place at the Panathenaic Stadium in front of 42,000 spectators.
The event commenced in 2018 to honour the legacy of the team’s patriarch, who passed away on 10 June 2018 at the aged of 89, with the first tournament being held a few months later at the Olympic Stadium’s Indoor Hall.
The team has performed strongly in recent years under the reins of Pavlos Giannakopoulos’ son, Dimitris, having won earlier this year their seventh EuroLeague title by beating Real Madrid 95-80.
