The 2025 Pavlos Giannakopoulos Tournament has officially been confirmed to take place in Australia with Panathinaikos BC and KK Partizan to head Down Under and take on each other and NBL sides Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers.
Rumours began spreading late last year about the tournament being held outside Europe for the first time in its history and coming to Australia for 2025, and it has finally been confirmed with the games set for September.
The announcement was made in a press conference today at Hoops Capital East with delegates from the National Basketball League and the participating clubs present.
Panathinaikos and Partizan will face battle it out in a friendly in Melbourne at John Cain Arena on 18 September, with the official tournament to take place in Sydney at Qudos Bank Arena on 21 and 22 September.
Answering questions from Neos Kosmos, Panathinaikos BC President Vassilis Parthenopoulos revealed that the first discussions regarding bringing the event to Australia began a year ago.
“It was a very difficult thing to do. In the beginning I thought it would never happen because Australia is too far away and you understand how players react with the long flight,” Parthenopoulos said.
“But then, with a lot of help from this gentleman (Larry Kestelman, NBL Owner and Executive Director), we made it possible, and I am looking forward to being here in September.”
When asked on the possibility of having a Greek vs Greek club game in Australia in the future, the Panathinaikos President said:
“I hope one day Olympiacos can come over here as well. It would be a hell of a derby.”
He also stressed the significance of them playing Partizan, another European heavyweight and a club coached by Željko Obradović, a legendary ex-coach of Panathinaikos from 1999-2012.
“(Partizan) is a great club…They are very passionate, they have a great coach…a coach that is in our heart and has given us many trophies,” Parthenopoulos said.
Parthenopoulos and Partizan President Ostoja Mijailović each greeted ex-Australian basketballer Aleks Maric at the event, who played for both teams during his career, praising him for his contributions while at the two clubs.
While there is great excitement for the Tournament, Panathinaikos is presently preparing for a massive EuroLeague Final Four wherein they are looking to retain their championship following last year’s win.
Parthenopoulos stated he was confident they can go the distance once again.
“We have reached the Final Four which was great. I couldn’t believe that we would go that well. We have a great team, great players, a great coach and I think we will get there. It is going to be tough competition,” he said.
He also highlighted the strong presence of Greek Basketball in this year’s Final Four with both Panathinaikos and Olympiacos involved and the other two clubs in Fenerbahce and Monaco being coached by former Panathinaikos players.
“Have a look at the coach of Fenerbahce: Šarūnas Jasikevičius. He used to play for Panathinaikos. He is in our heart also, but competition is competition,” he said.
“On the other side you see Olympiacos is going to play with Monaco, who is coached by Vassilis Spanoulis (an Olympiacos legend and also ex-Panathinaikos player). It is going to be very interesting this year.”
