Euro League
The first taste of Panathinaikos will not be exact
Panathinaikos will pose in front of his audience during “Pavlos Giannakopoulos” to show off some of his skills. But how accurate will the sample be? Rhetorical question.
The first taste of the Panathinaikos 2022/23 will be given in a few hours at the OAKA during the “Pavlos Giannakopoulos”, which will host Anatolou Efes, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Armani Milano.
A team that has proceeded with radical shifts in soul potential, with a complete renewal at foreigner level, but also with a differentiation in the balance of the Greek core, will compete with three of the contenders for Final Four qualifiers later this season.
The good thing for Panathinaikos is that a week before the ESAKE Super Cup, they will have the opportunity to test their readiness against top EuroLeague teams. The bad thing is that he can’t fully present on the floor what Dejan Radonić wants and imagines. The reason; Apparently.
A team with so many structural changes, not only personnel, but also philosophical, needs time to indulge in the “wishes” of the new commander. And then to achieve the required homogeneity and automation at the highest level. Anyone who thinks that Dejan Radonić’s players can show the full range of their skills against opponents with this EuroLeague status is wrong.
Even more so when the first opponent will be the leading team in Europe, Anadolu Efes, who made themselves even stronger this summer with a clear goal from a three-pointer in the EuroLeague. By the way, Ergin Ataman’s team not only did not change many of the core pieces, but during the pre-season they had the opportunity to work with a very large percentage of the players on whom they will rely.
Panathinaikos will therefore play the first (friendly) game in front of a crowd against an opponent who will largely reveal most of their weaknesses. On the other hand, it is clear that such friendships do more good than harm in the long run.
Especially when it comes to the first title of the new season, the Super Cup on Rhodes.
Panathinaikos, who will be looking to buy time in the opening weeks of the season and lay the groundwork for a more competitive face compared to the last two years, is no place for hasty criticism.
What became an institution
By the way, the fact that the “Pavlos Giannakopoulos” is being held in its fourth year shows that the tournament has developed into an institution. Not just because it’s going on without a break, but even more so because it involves teams from the top leagues. A circumstance that allows all teams to count “Pavlos Giannakopoulos” as a crash test before taking up duty.
As an example we mention that this is the third participation for Maccabi Tel Aviv but also the second for Armani Milano and Anadolu Efes.
It’s also worth noting that regardless of the result on Friday 23 September, Maccabi Tel Aviv will play in the first scheduled game of day two (24/9). The “People’s Group” submitted the relevant request to KAE Panathinaikos because Sunday, September 25th is “Rosh Hashanah” (the Jewish New Year’s Eve).
So whoever finds themselves in the stands at OAKA will not only enjoy a fine spectacle and top-flight friendlies, but also get an appetizer before the start of the EuroLeague two weeks from now.
Source: sport 24
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.