Panathinaikos extend winning streak, honour descendant of their founding father

Panathinaikos ATHENS continue their triumphal march in the early rounds of the women’s CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup where on Wednesday night they recorded a third straight victory in as many matches as they thumped Spain’s Fundación Unicaja ANDALUCÍA in straight sets (25-19, 25-13, 25-22) to make sure they ‘only’ need to take two sets from the re-match to advance to the 8th Finals. 

Dragan Nesic, head coach of Panathinaikos: “Congratulations to both teams. Sevilla is a very interesting team, and the rematch will be different for sure. I am happy with my team’s performance today. We controlled all three sets so congratulations to my players for their effort.”
 
Martina Samadan, player of Panathinaikos: “We secured a 3-0 victory, so it will be easier for us in the re-match. We took advantage of our block-defence and got a good win.” 

Ricardo Fernandez Torronteras, head coach of Fundación Unicaja ANDALUCÍA: “It was a tough match against Panathinaikos. We played well but we could not get the points at the crucial moments. We will prepare for the re-match at home to play even better.”

Leticia Delagrammatikas Laredo, player of Fundación Unicaja ANDALUCÍA: “Panathinaikos is a good and strong team with good players. We came here with good vibes to give our best. I think we did well, and we are waiting for the re-match.”

At the end of the match, Leticia received a symbolic gift from the local organisers since she is a descendant of one of the founding members of Panathinaikos. Leticia was born in Spain to a Greek father and a Spanish mother. The Delagrammatikas family trace their roots in Korthi, Andros, and her ancestor Kostas Delagrammatikas was among the co-founders of Panathinaikos together with Giorgos Kalafatis. He played until 1912 in Panathinaikos before embarking on a military career. She did not hide her joy for this recognition as the people of Panathinaikos presented her with a ‘green’ souvenir. The family’s attachment to their roots was confirmed by her father Petros who was at the arena and explained that for this reason Panathinaikos is among the teams that they usually root for.