Pitino talks Giannakopoulos being threatened with grenade in arena

In the podcast with Fran Fraschilla, Rick Pitino talked about the EuroLeague derby between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, when PAO’s owner Giannakopoulos left the “Peace and Friendship arena” at halftime. Pitino said Giannakopoulos left because someone was threatening him with a hand grenade.

“All those rivalries you mention, including Duke – Carolina would be a church league game compared to Olympiacos-Panathinaikos,” Pitino said. “First and foremost. your bench is shielded with bulletproof glass. Like a hockey thing. And then you have a net around the court so the hooligans can’t throw things. You have certain sections at Olympiacos as well as Panathinaikos. And this year, my owner had to leave the arena at halftime because he was threatened with a guy holding a hand grenade. The guy had a hand grenade if he didn’t leave. So he had to leave at halftime.”