The National Basketball League (NBL) hosted a special gathering at Fable Melbourne on Thursday, May 15 to celebrate the upcoming Pavlos Giannakopoulos Tournament, set to take place in Australia this September.
The event was attended by approximately 80 guests from the Greek and Serbian business, sports, media, and community sectors.
This marks the first time the prestigious tournament, named in honour of the late Panathinaikos BC president Pavlos Giannakopoulos, will be held outside Europe.
The tournament will feature EuroLeague powerhouses Panathinaikos BC AKTOR and KK Partizan Belgrade, alongside Australian NBL teams Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers. The games are scheduled for September 18 at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena and September 21–22 at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.
Key figures present at the Melbourne event included Vassilis Parthenopoulos, President of Panathinaikos BC AKTOR; Ostoja Mijailović, President of KK Partizan; Larry Kestelman, NBL owner; David Stevenson, NBL CEO; Dimitra Georgantzoglou, Consul General of Greece in Melbourne; and Bill Papastergiadis, President of the Greek Community of Melbourne.
Speeches were delivered by Parthenopoulos, Stevenson, and NBL Director Nikola Milivojevic. At the conclusion, Papastergiadis presented commemorative plaques to both club presidents.
Pre-registration for tickets to the Pavlos Giannakopoulos Tournament is now open here, with those who sign up early given priority access on Monday, 19 May. General public tickets will go on-sale on Thursday 22 May.
*All photos by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images for NBL.
