Evergreen Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 At the beginning of the 1930’s when Yiorgos Kalafatis (the founder of Panathinaikos Sports Club) brought back the game of basketball from France, he may have never thought that this was to become the sport where Panathinaikos would accomplish its greatest glories. The basketball club was founded in 1937 and won its 1st league in 1947. By the time that A1 (National League) was formed, PAO (the abbreviation for Panathinaikos) had already won 7 championships, thus creating a tradition that until this day is of great significance. The same could be said for the Greek Cup, where “The Shamrocks” have won 7. Panathinaikos also happens to be not only Greece’s best representative, but also one of Europe’s biggest powers. The “Greens” 1st put their name on the European map in 1969 and 1971 when it managed to reach the semi-finals of the Cup Winners and Champions Cups, respectively. After 10 years of European wilderness Panathinaikos managed to qualify in the Final-6 in Europe’s elite after an epic game in the “Hindu’s Grave” (old home court) versus the Soviet power of CSKA Moscow, in the game dubbed as the “Eternal Second” where club legend and until today, all- time club top- scorer Apostolos Kontos made 2 free-throws with the clock showing 00.00 to send PAO fans into a frenzy! After that, PAO was again to become the sleeping giant of Europe until Greek basketball became “professional” in 1992. Club owners and fans Pavlos and Thannasis Yannakopoulos, brought legend Nikos Galis to PAO and made Panathinaikos feared of again, not only in Greece, but in Europe as a whole. The next years would elevate Panathinaikos’ status to the heavens. PAO would participate in the European Final- 4’s of 1993-1994 in Tel Aviv, 1994-1995 in Zaragosa finishing 3rd on both occasions after losing to the Eternal Enemies Olympiakos Pireus. In the next 4 Final Fours PAO would attend and justify the millions of dollars spent. PAO would be crowned European Champions in three different occasions. In Paris in 1995-1996, Thessaloniki in 2000-2001 and Bologna in 2002-2003 (see The Three Coronations of Panathaikos for more information about these victories). Panathinaikos would lose though in 2001-2002 to a hungrier Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Suproleague Final in Paris. The fans over the years were lucky enough to see some of the worlds best players adorn the holy shirt of Panathinaikos with the shamrock placed upon their heart. They include Nikos Galis, Panayiotis Yannakis, Fanis Christoudoulou, Dominique Wilkins, Byron Scott, Edgar Jones, Antonio Davis, Dino Radja, Alexander Volkov, Stojan Vrankovic, Dejan Bodiroga, Zarko Paspalj, Zeljko Rebraca, Arijan Komazec, and John Salley to name a few. And we should not forget to mention the great coaches: Kostas Politis, Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou, Zeljiko Pavlicevic, Bozidar Malkovic and the current Zelimir Obradovic. The Panathinaikos Trophy Cabinet: Championships: 25 1946, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1961, 1962, 1967,1969, 1971, 1972, 1973,1974,1975,1977, 1980,1981, 1982, 1984, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004. Greek Cups: 7 1974, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1993, 1996, 2003 Champions Cups: 3 1996, 2000, 2002 Intercontinental Trophies :1 1996 PAO's timeline of European Success 1969: P.A.O. B.C. reaches the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup 1972: Panathinaikos reaches the semi-finals of the European Champions' Cup 1982: P.A.O. finishes sixth in the European Champions' Cup. 1984: Panathinaikos reach the quarter-finals of the European Champions' Cup. 1994: PAO finishes in third position in the final four of the Euroleague, which took place in Tel Aviv 1995: The same position was taken by Panathinaikos again, this time in Zaragosa 1996: The first great moment in the history of Panathinaikos B.C. as the team become the Kings of Europe for the 1st time. 1996: PAO wins the Intercontinental Trophy. Beating Olympia de Benado Tueto of Argentina, 2-1 in series. 1997: Quarter-finals of the Euroleague. 1998: Reached the semi-finals of the European Cup. 2000: The second greatest moment of Panathinaikos BC, became European Champion by beating Maccabi Tel Aviv BC, 73-67. 2001: Panathinaikos reached the final in the Suproleague, but was defeated by Maccabi Tel Aviv 67-81. 2002: PAO won their third European Champion's Cup by beating Kinder Bologna BC on their home court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.