|
 |
Panathinaikos claims Euroleague crown back! |
|
Panathinaikos Athens is the Euroleague Basketball champion for 2009! Panathinaikos lifted its second crown in three years by beating last season’s champion CSKA 73-71 in a thrilling final at o2 World in Berlin on Sunday night. One of the most exciting basketball title games in history went to the wire and wasn’t decided until Ramunas Siskauskas’s attempted three at the buzzer bounced out. That allowed Panathinaikos to celebrate its fifth Euroleague title and the seventh for head coach Zeljko Obradovic, the winningest head coach in Euroleague history. Vassilis Spanoulis was named Final Four MVP after scoring 13, including a clutch triple with less than three minutes to play.
|
|
|
 |
Vassilis Spanoulis, Final Four MVP |
|
Panathinaikos' star guard Vassilis Spanoulis was selected Euroleague Basketball’s 2009 Final Four MVP after leading the Greens to a 73-71 victory over defending champion CSKA Moscow in the title game on Sunday night at o2 World in Berlin. Spanoulis was selected in a vote of media after leading the winners with 31 total points in the Final Four, including 13 in the final.
|
|
|
 |
Panathinaikos collects three individual honors |
On the eve of the title game, three Panathinaikos players were honored with individual trophies at the official awards ceremony: Nikola Pekovic as All-Euroleague First Team center, Vassilis Spanoulis as All-Euroleague Second Team guard and Dimitris Diamantidis as Best Defender Trophy winner. VIDEO: Pekovic, Diamantidis, Spanoulis. |
|
|
 |
Panathinaikos get rid of Reds to get into Final |
|
Panathinaikos bested archrival Olympiacos Piraeus 82-84 in a memorable second semifinal of the 2009 Euroleague Basketball Final Four on Friday evening at the o2 World in Berlin. The Greens advance to face defending champion CSKA Moscow in a rematch of the 2007 title game on Sunday. Panathinaikos edged CSKA for the crown that season in Athens.
|
|
|
 |
Fan Mail: Vassilis Spanoulis |
|
One of the happiest people in basketball right now surely has to be Panathinaikos guard Vassilis Spanoulis. Not only he has been chosen to one of the All-Euroleague teams, but Spanoulis is also getting ready for his Final Four debut and the chance to lead Panathinaikos to its fifth Euroleague title.
|
|
|
 |
Interview: Nikola Pekovic |
|
One of the biggest off-season moves last summer came when Panathinaikos announced a multi-year deal with Nikola Pekovic, one of the world's top young centers. Almost a year later, it has already been a win-win situation for both. Panathinaikos is back in the Final Four for the first time since winning the title in 2007, while Pekovic has cemented his status as one of the most unstoppable big men in basketball.
|
|
|
 |
Interview: Zeljko Obradovic |
|
In an 18-year head coaching career, he has reached 11 Final Fours and won six of them. No one else comes close. Both of those records make Zeljko Obradovic of Panathinaikos the most successful European coach ever and one of the greatest in the history of elite pro basketball.
|
|
|
 |
Blog: Stratos Perperoglou |
|
"Hello to all of you again! Just like I said the previous time, we're still here, still playing! The "next big step" I was talking to you about in my previous blog is a fact. We got to the Final Four, we’ll be in Berlin. We achieved one of our goals already!"
|
|
|
 |
Mike Batiste: Q&A, Slideshow, Video |
|
A constant in the Panathinaikos frontcourt for the last six seasons, Panathinaikos big man Mike Batiste has been detonating his trademark dunks for the Greens during a flood of domestic trophies and one truly memorable Euroleague championship season - which he plans to duplicate in Berlin.
|
|
|
 |
Four-star generals, trying for five |
|
the stars arrayed above the three-leaf clover on its logo say plenty about Panathinaikos, the most successful club in modern European club competition. those four stars represent the Euroleague trophies that Panathinaikos has won since 1996, making the Greens the top team in the two-decade Final Four era.
|
|
|
 |
Wallpaper: Antonis Fotsis |
|
He started the decade winning a title with the Greens, and having returned to his roots at Panathinaikos this season, power forward Antonis Fotsis Fotsis, who is also the Euroleague's record-holder for rebounds in a single game, plans to end the decade in the same way! Dowload his wallpaper now!
|
|
|
 |
Killers on the road, Greens are Berlin-bound! |
|
With a second straight away win, 84-91 over Montepaschi in Siena, Italy, the Greens of Panathinaikos returned to the Final Four two years after their last Euroleague title. Vassilis Spanoulis shined with 11 points and a career-high 10 assists while former Euroleague top scorer Drew Nicholas had 19 points.
|
|
|
| · Final, postgame quotes - May 3, 2009 |
| · Final, pregame quotes - May 3, 2009 |
| · Semifinal, postgame quotes - April 30, 2009 |
| · Semifinal, pregame quotes - April 30, 2009 |
| · Panathinaikos is headed to Berlin - April 3, 2009 |
| · Top 16 Week 6 MVP: Mike Batiste, Panathinaikos - March 13, 2009 |