The member of the 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame class is back at winning titles. Rick Pitino won his first major trophy in Europe with Panathinaikos as the Greens swept Promitheas 3-0 in the Greek League finals, finishing their flawless playoffs campaign.
Pitino’s club was awarded a semifinal berth after its main domestic rival, Olympiacos, withdrew from the competition due to refereeing scandal in Greek Cup semifinal game. Panathinaikos swept Peristeri in three games at the semifinal stage. It’s the 37th national title for the Athens team.
??????????? ??????? 2019!!! ??
?????? ??????????: ???????????? ???? – ????????? ??????: 111-77
GREEK LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 2019!!! ??
Final score: Panathinaikos BC OPAP – @promitheasbc: 111-77#paobc #panathinaikosbc #champions #champions2019 #greekleaguechampions pic.twitter.com/tFd7EZsygh— Panathinaikos BC (@paobcgr) June 14, 2019
Pitino took over the club during the 2018-19 season after lackluster performances under the previous coach Xavi Pascual. The Hall of Famer was able to turn the tables for Panathinaikos guiding the team to win 10 out of their 16 remaining games in the Euroleague regular season which turned into the playoff spot. However, Panathinaikos was eliminated in the quarterfinal by Real Madrid. Pitino’s first title with the Greek club came this February. Panathinaikos defeated PAOK 79-73 in the final game of the Greek Cup.
Greek Cup Championship to Panathinaikos! Awesome group of guys. Truly special men #paobc pic.twitter.com/DCpL7P86u6
— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) February 17, 2019
Despite the recent success and willingness of club’s president, Dimitrios Giannakopoulos, to re-sign the legendary college coach, Pitino is yet to reveal any plans for the future. The former Knicks and Celtics coach was linked to several jobs including vacancy at UCLA and Cavaliers head coach position, however, none of the rumors were close to reality.
Pitino’s hesitation regarding his contract renewal with Panathinaikos can also be explained by the overall turbulence in Greek basketball due to a scandal with Olympiacos. However, both major Greek clubs will participate in the upcoming 2019-20 Euroleague season.
