Panathinaikos BC captain Kostas Sloukas has expressed immense enthusiasm with the current standing of Greek basketball, believing their recent bronze medal finish at EuroBasket 2025 demonstrates the country’s continued strength as one of the best basketball nations.
Sloukas and the entire Panathinaikos team were present at a media call event held at Hickson Rd Reserve in Sydney on Friday (19 September) in anticipation of the Pavlos Giannakopoulos Tournament games on Sunday.
The Greek basketball star reflected on the national team’s recent success as they secured their first medal since 2009.
“EuroBasket was very difficult,” Sloukas told Neos Kosmos.
“We were generally optimistic from the very beginning. In the end we achieved our goal of winning a medal for the first time after so many years. I am very happy to have been part of that team.”
The 35-year-old superstar remarked that the sport has gone through immense change since he first started playing professionally.
“Basketball is always evolving. It has changed completely. It is much faster. A lot of talents have emerged,” he said.
“Greek basketball remains at a high level, as we saw recently through our EuroBasket success.”
Sloukas and fellow Panathinaikos star Panagiotis Kalaitzakis both noted the team’s pleasure in coming to Australia for the tournament that honours the legendary figure of the club,
“Certainly, it is a big deal to bring the team from Greece to the other side of the world,” Kalaitzakis told Neos Kosmos.
“Australian basketball is at a very good level,” Sloukas added, expressing interest to see what the conditions are like and how they compare to Europe.
Kalaitzakis admitted that the feedback they received from the players who arrived earlier in Australia has deeply encouraged them about the Greek diaspora.
“We’ve heard from the players that came earlier how many Greeks there are, and also how many Panathinaikos supporters are here. It is something that shows just how big our team is,” he said.
“We are happy that we are giving people joy, and we hope that our presence here gives them a push to continue following the team from afar.”
There will be little rest for Panathinaikos following their Australia trip as they prepare for the start of the 2025/26 EuroLeague on 30 September, and they have imposed high expectations on themselves.
“Certainly, our biggest goal is to win the EuroLeague just as we did in the 2023/24 season,” Kalaitzakis said.
“Everyone will give their all and each play their part as we pursue our goal of winning the competition.”
