Former Louisville coach Rick Pitino captured the Greek Cup Championship on Sunday, coaching Greek powerhouse club Panathinaikos to a 79-73 win over PAOK in the championship game. It's the 19th Greek Cup win for Panathinaikos.
Pitino began coaching the club back in December, taking the reins midseason from Xavi Pascual, who was canned following a skid in EuroLeague play in which Panathinaikos lost five of its seven games.
Greek Cup Championship to Panathinaikos! Awesome group of guys. Truly special men #paobc pic.twitter.com/DCpL7P86u6
— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) February 17, 2019
Pitino and his Panathinaikos club advanced to the league finals via a forfeit in the semifinal round. Facing Olympiakos, the David Blatt-coached team protested the game's officiating by no-showing in the second half, paving the way for Panathinaikos to advance by default.
Pitino, a Hall of Fame coach, last coached in the U.S. at Louisville where he was fired in 2017 in connection to the FBI's probe into corruption within college basketball. He won one national title at Louisville in 2013, which was later vacated by the NCAA, and another with Kentucky in 1996.
