Messina for the tournament ‘P. Giannakopoulos: “Opportunity to honor the memory of a legendary man”

The fourth “P. Giannakopoulos” tournament will be held on September 23-24 at OAKA with the participation of hosts Panathinaikos, Armani Milano, Maccabi and Anadolu Efes.

Italy coach Ettore Messina spoke to the Panathinaikos camera about Pavlos Giannakopoulos’ great form and the importance of such tournaments.

Ettore Messina’s statements in front of the Panathinaikos camera in detail:

“The Pavlos Giannakopoulos tournament is very important. Four of his teams compete EuroleagueI’d say four contenders for the position endgames and the European champions. It will be a great event in a “basketball town” in a very beautiful setting. We are happy to be part of the Pavlos Giannakopoulos tournament and it will certainly help us to be ready for the start of our official duties.” he first emphasized before referring to the atmosphere of OAKA: “OAKA full is something excellent, OAKA empty is something else. I’ve experienced both, I was at OAKA with few people, but when it’s full of enthusiastic Panathinaikos fans, they create an incredible atmosphere and definitely help their team a lot to achieve their goals.”

Then the Italian coach recalled his big duels with Panathinaikos: “I’ve been lucky enough to play in many finals with Panathinaikos and unfortunately we didn’t win any. We lost the final twice against CSKA and once against Bologna Euroleague against the mythical Panathinaikos of Mr. Pavlos and his Coach Obradovic”.

Finally, referring to his first game as manager against Panathinaikos in 1992, he expressed his admiration for what the late Pavlos Giannakopoulos and his family have achieved: “We have great respect for what Mr. Pavlos and his family have built in Athens. I remember a moment from my first season as Euroleague coach in 1992.

We faced Panathinaikos in qualifying, we played with Virtus Bologna on the auxiliary field next to the football field and it was a bit crowded and we managed to eliminate them. Back then we couldn’t imagine that in a few years, under the direction of the Giannakopoulos family, they would build what they built. It is a prime opportunity to honor the memory of a legendary man who helped our sport.”