Kelley: 36ers couldn't pass up Euro tournament

Executive Chairman Grant Kelley says the Adelaide 36ers are delighted to be taking part in a tournament against two of Europe’s biggest clubs.

It was announced on Monday that the 36ers, along with Sydney, would take on reigning EuroLeague champions Panathinaikos BC AKTOR of Greece and Serbian champions KK Partizan as part of the Pavlos Giannakopoulos Tournament.

The four-game series, which honours the legacy of the late former longtime owner and president of Panathinaikos, is being held outside of Europe for the first time.

The 36ers will play the European clubs on September 21 and 22 in Sydney with the games broadcast to a global audience.

“This is something that’s been in the works for a number of years with the NBL,” said Mr Kelley.

“There were a number of conversations that went along with that, but I do think we’re privileged to be, alongside Sydney, the two NBL clubs that were selected to feature.

“We just thought it was such an opportunity that we couldn’t pass it up.”

Each of the European clubs are renowned for their huge and passionate supporter bases, something likely to be on show at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.

While Mr Kelley said the 36ers would have loved to have hosted a game in Adelaide, scheduling constraints meant that was not possible.

The 36ers have instead organised travel packages for people who want to get to Sydney for the event.

“For all of our fans this is going to be really exciting but I think more broadly for the basketball community of Australia this is extraordinary,” said Mr Kelley.

“These are two of the genuine powerhouses of European basketball. Both are teams that draw around 20,000 to their games, they have extraordinary rosters so it’s really exciting to be involved in this tournament.”

The 36ers have a history of playing against big international sides including beating the Phoenix Suns in the US in October 2022.

Mr Kelley expected the club would play its opening NBL26 fixture before taking part in the Pavlos Giannakopoulos Tournament but said the season schedule had not been finalised.

“The fixture should be announced around the end of May or beginning of June,” he explained.

“We’ll probably have one game prior to this, likely on the Thursday before this tournament, and then we’ll have about a week off after the games in Sydney.”

Pre-registration for tickets is open here, with those who sign up early given priority access on Friday, 16 May. General public tickets will go on-sale on Monday 19 May.