Panathinaikos officially part ways with Dejan Radonjic, announce Christos Serelis / News - Basketnews.com

The Dejan Radonjic era at Panathinaikos didn't last more than eight months, as the Montenegrin coach and the Greek club agreed to part ways. Former Lavrio coach Christos Serelis has already taken on his duties.

Credit: Vangelis Stolis Credit Vangelis Stolis

Panathinaikos Athens and Dejan Radonjic will go their separate ways, as the two sides agreed to terminate their deal on mutual consent.

Free throws this season

73%15,9Points made:15,9Accuracy:72,8%Place in standings:4Record max:26Record min:5Most made FTs:Dwayne BaconTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

That doesn't mean the Montenegrin coach will leave Athens empty-handed, as the club will pay him this year's salaries and almost 50% of his contract for next season.

Panathinaikos wished good luck to Radonjic who sat on his bench for the last time in the Greek Cup Final 8 semi-final against Olympiacos Piraeus and was held responsible for both the defeat in the derby and the poor performance of the team throughout the season.

Following the elimination by their main rivals, the six-time EuroLeague champs are left with only one of their main goals- the Greek league, where Olympiacos will probably end up winning the regular season.

The former Crvena Zvezda coach and Panathinaikos had been working on a termination agreement, with the only obstacle being Radonjic's financial claims. As soon as that issue was sorted out, the Greens announced the end of his tenure which amounted to a 23-20 balance across all competitions, including a meager 8-16 in the EuroLeague.

Panathinaikos will face EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Italy next Thursday with former Lavrio coach Christos Serelis on the bench.

The Greek tactician is expected to make his EuroLeague debut, having Giorgos Vovoras and Vassilis Simtsak as his assistants. While Simtsak was a former staff member who came back, Vovoras is expected to leave the team as soon as the transition to Serelis is completed.

Serelis, 48, is one of the longest-serving coaches in Greek basketball history, having guided Lavrio BC from 2004 to 2022.

From April to June 2022 he was a member of Panathinaikos' coaching staff next to Vovoras, before returning to his former team.

With Lavrio's team he had an excellent course managing to move it from the amateur categories to A1, reaching the Greek league finals in the 2021-2022 season and losing 1-3 to Panathinaikos.

At the same time, Lavrio reached the semi-final of the Greek Cup, eliminating AEK in the quarter-finals. After its excellent run in the Greek league, Lavrio qualified for a European competition for the first time initsr history, participating in the Basketball Champions League in the 2021-22 season.

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