Dejan Radonjic reveals Panathinaikos are close to signing a new player / News - Basketnews.com

After Panathinaikos' tough win over Lavrio, Dejan Radonjic said the Greens have found one more player that will boost their roster.

Credit: Vangelis Stolis Credit Vangelis Stolis

Panathinaikos Athenshad a tough time beating Lavrio on the road 86-84, thanks to a game-winning, last-second layup by Paris Lee.

Panathinaikos Athens / Schedule

Virtus Segafredo Bologna Panathinaikos Athens74-64 Panathinaikos Athens Zalgiris KaunasThu19:00

The Greens collected their 11th domestic win in 13 games, thus keeping the second place in the standings but having two wins less than leaders Olympiacos Piraeus. However, their performance and the way they won the contest were far from convincing.

Paris Lee led the EuroLeague side with 22 points and 7 assists, while Dwayne Bacon was decisive with 18 points and 6/9 from behind the arc, including two daggers in the closing two minutes of the duel.

Credit Vangelis Stolis

CoachDejan Radonjichad to make do with a short-handed roster that was deprived of Nate Wolters, Lefteris Mantzoukas, and Lefteris Bochoridis, who are all injured. Marius Grigonis hasn't been registered to play in the Greek league, while youngsters Alex Samodurov and Neoklis Avdalas are in Munich for the Adidas Next Generation Tournament, where the Greens captured the 5th place.

With PAO having suffered seven losses in their last eight EuroLeague contests, in addition to a dismal 7-13 record in the top competition, Dejan Radonjic's future could be described as uncertain.

However, following the loss to Olympiacos on December 30, 2022, the former Crvena Zvezda tactician received full support from owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos. Additionally, the Montenegrin coach has been given an unlimited budget to make the changes he wants in the roster, both for signing and for letting players go, as well as modifications in the non-sport side of the organization.

Credit Vangelis Stolis

Even though Radonjic's postgame quotes rarely make headlines, in Lavrio, the Montenegrin coach had some news to share- a forthcoming addition.

"I hope that we'll have more players at our disposal, both at our practice next week and in view of the match against Zalgiris Kaunas," Radonjic said.

"We have also found a new player. I hope that we'll sign him during the next week," he added.

"Our schedule is very tough," he continued. "We had the match against Virtus Bologna last Thursday, and it is very difficult to respond with the small rotation that we have at the moment, due to the problems we face."

"We expected Lavrio to have a lot of energy from the beginning of the match, while we didn't have any. It was a tough game. We had a very small rotation for this game," Radonjic told Greek league broadcaster ERT after the game.

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