Flying to Athens for a week that, regardless of the results, Olimpia will use to work hard and get back on track after a period in which the team’s problems have been exacerbated by bad luck. That’s what happened against Bologna, a game Olimpia dominated for nearly three quarters, was still in control for 39 minutes until Virtus tied the score. In the overtime the difference was Olimpia’s inability to land the final punch, when it trailed by one point. Milano needs to build on the good things, which have been evident, starting with the performances of RJ Cole and Jason Burnell, who quickly demonstrated they are no longer two rookies called up to prove themselves. The opponent isn’t exactly what was needed at this time: Panathinaikos, with its very deep roster, all top-tier players, is a team that looks beyond the Final Four, to the final prize and they started as expected with only one loss, at home against Hapoel Tel Aviv. In front of 18,000 rabid fans at OAKA, a good game will require a display of courage and intensity that can at least build confidence. The same will be true after two days of practicong in Greece on Friday night against Olympiacos. Olimpia traveled to Athens with the entire squad, all 15 players and the entire staff. It will be a week of intense practicing, from which the team hopefully will emerge improved.
COACH PEPPE POETA – “We’re facing a team that’s among the title contenders, boasting a wealth of talent and impressive physical size. Panathinaikos has made physical toughness their trademark and currently boasts one of the best defenses in the competition, a team coached by Coach Obradovic, of course, to an exemplary standard. Against their physicality, we’ll have to move the ball to avoid being overwhelmed.”
REFEREES – Carlos Cortes, Arturas Sukys, Anne Panther.
NOTES – Panathinaikos Athens-Armani Olimpia Milano is going to be played in Athens on Tuesday, October 27th, at 21:15 local time.
PANATHINAIKOS OUTLOOK – Panathinaikos won the the EuroLeague title just three years ago, its seventh, but this summer they changed the coaching staff, bringing back to Athens the coach with the most titles (eight), wins, and appearances as head coach in EuroLeague history. Zeljko Obradovic compiled a 209-81 record over 13 years as Panathinaikos’s coach before this season, while in the top-flight competition, where he coached Partizan (twice), Badalona, Real Madrid, Treviso, Panathinaikos, and Fenerbahce, his personal record is 465-233. 371-203 in the EuroLeague era.
Guards: the explosive point-man Sylvain Francisco is a French international who attender high school in the States before coming back home. He played in Greece for Peristeri But his career took off when he moved to Bayern and later to Zalgiris for a couple of seasons. As of now he is averaging 15.8 points and 4.5 assists per game over 23 minutes on the court. The team star is obviously Kendrick Nunn who averaged 18.2 points per game during his first three seasons at Panathinaikos. A left-handed scorer, he has 193 NBA appearances with 12.1 points per game. Because of an injury, he missed the first six games and was just back last week. The same for the team’s statesman Kostas Sloukas, a veteran with 464 EuroLeague Games and 2.082 assists in his career. He will turn 37 in January, he won The EuroLeague four times with three different teams. He is like Nunn in his fourth season at Panathinaikos. Jerian Grant, he too in his fourth season on Athens, is a combo-guard with size and defensive attitude. He averages 6.7 points per game and now he is a reliable three-point shooter (38.9 percent for his career). The fifth guard is Brancou Badio, a pure off guard, a Senegalese international who won the Spanish championship in Valencia. An emerging player, he is averaging 6.2 points per game over 21.3 minutes on the court. Finally, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis who Obradovic normally uses for his defense and as a glue guy (2.7 assists in 16 minutes).
Forwards: a 2023 World champion and a 2025 European champion with the German national team, Isaac Bonga (143 NBA appearances) is in his first season at Panathinaikos. A physical player who Obradovic coached at Partizan, he is averaging 4.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per night. Nikolaos Rogkavopoulos, who has played for Vitoria, is small forward with size and shooting skills averaging 8.3 points per game so far. At the 4-spot Panathinaikos is the deeper team ever seen. First option is
Nigel Hayes-Davis, who was the Final Four MVP two years ago with Fenerbahce who came back to Europe following a brief NBA stint in Phoenix. He is averaging 13.5 points per game. He is multi level scorer. Another former NBA player (339 games played) is Juancho Hernangomez, a Spanish international (gold Medalist at the 2019 Worlds and at the 2022 European championship), 6.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game now, the EuroLeague leading rebounder in 2025. Dinos Mitoglou, 6.5 points per game on 59.1 percent shooting on twos and 5.0 rebounds per game, is another player with size who can shoot from the perimeter and be a scorer on post-up plays.
Centers: again Panathinaikos is definitely an extremely deep team. Frenchman Mathias Lessort, following a long injury, is back at the top of his game based on strength and athleticism. He is averaging 11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He is a powerful offensive rebounder (2.3 per game). The 2.18 mt talk Moustapha Fall has been one of the summer signings, coming from Olympiacos. He has had some injury problems lately and as of now he is playing less than seven minutes per game (3.3 points and 3.0 rebounds). Finally, Guerschon Yabusele, who in truth is a powerful power forward, can be used as a center taking advantage of his huge physicality. He is averaging 10.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and shooting 45 percent on threes. He spent three seasons with Real Madrid before moving back to the NBA to play for Philadelphia and New York.
THE CONNECTION – Jerian Grant played in Milan during the 2021-22 season, contributing to the team’s Italian Cup and league title win. While he wasn’t used in the Italian Cup, he was decisive in the Italian league, appearing in 36 games, 11 of which were in the playoffs. In the EuroLeague, he played 26 games, scoring 42 points. Dinos Mitoglou also played in 13 games for Olimpia during the 2021-22 season, scoring 99 points before his season was suspended early.
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