PAO owner Giannakopoulos assaults officials

Greek champions Panathinaikos kept its Euroleague season alive following a dramatic 86-85 victory over Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow.

Panathinaikos, trailing 2-1 in the best-of-five game series, host Game 4 tonight in attempt to avoid elimination.

However, the hardwood drama between the two giants is nothing – absolutely nothing – compared to what happened behind the scenes at the Olympic Sports Center in Athens.

If you thought Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is a trash talker, read this.

According to a post-game report filed to Euroleague headquarters by a league official, Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos went insane.

"A minute after we entered the locker room, the door was pushed open by Mr. Giannakopoulos, followed by two men. He threw a big candle towards (Turkish referee Recep Ankarali) but it hit a chair. Giannakopoulos was extremely aggressive," said the official.

It then read: "Giannakopoulos was yelling 'I'll kill you. You will not leave Greece alive. I promise you this from my eyes. I will kill you and your family, and this is a promise'," he said toward Ankarali.

Giannakopoulos told Ankarali he would "fuck your mother, your wife, and your children in front of you."

His mental rage lasted two minutes. And, the most frightening fact about all this was - "there was no police or security to protect us," the Euroleague representative wrote.


Written by David Pick

Twitter: @IAmDPick