The man tasked with leading China's national men's basketball team through the Rio Olympics in 2016 has arrived in Beijing. Greek native Panagiotis Giannakis, fittingly nicknamed "The Dragon", has been hired to replace former coach Bob Donewald Jr. with the hope he will lift the team to new heights.
Giannakis, surrounded by media as he touched down at the Capital Airport on Monday. The 54-year-old wasn’t planning to take much time to relax before getting down to work though. He was scheduled to meet his new players this afternoon, ahead of making what are expected to be sweeping changes to the team’s playing style.
Giannakis will make his debut behind the bench when China host Australia on June 12 and will work towards leading China into the Asian Championships in August, where winning the title will be his first major test. Giannakis has signed a four-year deal, but there is an option for the Chinese Basketball Association to review his status once a year. A win at the Asian’s will probably be his first major measuring stick.
Giannakis has had success at the international level as the coach of Greece’s national men’s team. He led the squad to the semi-finals of the World Championships in 1998 with a second place finish in 2006, where they knocked off the powerhouse Americans before falling in the final to Spain. The Greek team also won the 2005 European Championship under Giannakis’ guidance and finished fifth at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.