By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced Dinos Mitoglou’s doping ban to 16 months, allowing him to resume playing until the end of July, Panathinaikos announced that he will be rejoining the team in Athens for the next three seasons.
“I am very happy to return home. I don’t want to say too much, except to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dimitris Giannakopoulos for the trust and love he has shown me, to all the people of Panathinaikos, and, of course, to the team’s fans who have never ceased to support me. The rest will be demonstrated on the field through hard work and an unwavering determination to achieve our goals,” said Mitoglou.
Dinos Mitoglou, who had previously tested positive for the prohibited substance methandienone during a EuroLeague game between Olimpia Milano and Panathinaikos on March 4, 2022, had been serving his ban since March 26, 2022. However, after a successful appeal, CAS ruled in his favor and reduced his suspension by half.
The 27-year-old power forward, who had previously played for Aris (2013-14), initially joined Panathinaikos in 2017 and remained with the team until 2021. During his time with Panathinaikos, he achieved great success, winning four Championships (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) and two Greek Cups (2019, 2021). He then transferred to Olimpia Milano for the 2021-22 season and secured the Italian Cup (2022).
Mitoglou is the fifth overall, and third domestic addition for Panathinaikos this summer, as the club previously signed Kostas Antetokounmpo and Dimitris Moraitis, as well as Luca Vildoza and Matthias Lessort. Five players also left, Paris Lee, Nate Wolters, Derrick Williams, Arturas Gudaitis and Mateusz Ponitka.