Greek league

Euroleague basketball clubs Olympiakos Piraeus and Maccabi Tel Aviv will play a friendly in honor of the Greek team's retired legend Giorgos Printezis, Maccabi said in a statement on Friday, following Olympiakos' announcement.

Panathinaikos and Olympiakos scored emphatic home victories in the Euroleague this week ahead of their head-to-head on Monday for the Greek league.

First up Olympiakos defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday with an 89-72 score in Piraeus for its 12th win in 22 games.

Olympiakos released Colombian attacking midfielder James Rodriguez on Thursday, a day after the club was eliminated from the Greek Cup. The former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich player, 31, joined the Greek club in September and scroed five goals this season.

The week after the Greek league derby, that saw Olympiakos edge out Panathinaikos away, ended in both of them losing easily in the Euroleague.

Olympiakos went down 90-75 at Partizan Belgrade on Friday to stay with 21 wins in 30 matches.

Greece's two representatives in the Euroleague continued their separate ways in midweek, with Olympiakos remaining at the top of the table with a home win over Barcelona, and Panathinaikos suffering another defeat, this time away at Monaco.

Olympiakos scored an important road win at Valencia, its seventh in the Euroleague this season, while Panathinaikos was unable to follow up its triumph at CSKA Moscow with another away victory at Armani Milano.

Ajax will start its Champions League campaign against unbeaten Greek league winner PAOK Thessaloniki in the third qualifying round drawn Monday.
Last season, four-time European champion Ajax reached the semifinals in May having entered the competition in the second preliminary round in July.

The Milwaukee Bucks signed NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo's older brother, Thanasis, to a two-year contract, The Athletic reported Sunday.

The 26-year-old forward was a second-round pick by New York in 2014 and appeared in two games with the Knicks in January 2016.

The Athens native won his second straight Greek League championship this season with Panathinaikos.

Rick Pitino is leaving Panathinaikos, the team he coached to a Greek League championship this season, he told ESPN on Friday.

The Hall of Famer said he turned down an offer to return as the franchise's president and head coach in order to pursue a job in the NBA, either in coaching or in a player personnel or advisory role.

Panathinaikos coach Rick Pitino has criticized fans of the Greek club for smoking and lighting flares during games, saying they are showing a lack of respect for the players.
"It's extremely self-centered and selfish of people," Pitino said late Wednesday after Panathinaikos beat Peristeri 91-68 in the Greek league semifinals. He described the atmosphere at the game as "awful."