Bruno Fernando revealed that Juancho Hernangomez encouraged him to join Panathinaikos before he chose Real Madrid. Now, as Madrid faces PAO in a crucial EuroLeague clash, Fernando is eager to experience OAKA's atmosphere and play against his former teammate.
In a recent interview with AS, Bruno Fernando revealed that not only did he speak with some of his former teammates, like Usman Garuba and Juancho Hernangomez, before joining Real Madrid, but he was also advised by the Spanish forward to sign with Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens.
Real Madrid / Schedule
The Greek outfit was also on the lookout for a center in late January-early February. But as it turned out, Fernando chose Los Blancos over the reigning EuroLeague champs after leaving the Toronto Raptors and a six-year NBA stint with another three teams (Atlanta, Boston, Houston).
And now he's in Europe, having played 10 games for Real Madrid between the Spanish league and Cup and the EuroLeague. His team's next game is the EuroLeague Round 28 outing against no other than Panathinaikos at a packed OAKA arena.
Juancho will be waiting, but not in order to guide his former Boston Celtics teammate through the fully renovated venue, including the newly-refurbished locker room. Hernangomez will try to sink the Spanish powerhouse deeper into despair and increase PAO's chances of making the TOP 4 in the regular season.
"I can't say exactly what Juancho told me, but obviously he's a good friend of mine; someone who I've known for a while, just kind of having friendly conversations," Fernando, 27, replied when BasketNews asked him about the discussion he had with Panathinaikos' power forward.
"Obviously, there was a high level of interest," the Angolan center went on to say, referring to the Greens' push for his signature.
"More so than anything, being a friend of mine calling me about it and expressing how much he'd like for us to play together. After Boston, we never really had an opportunity to play together again. So, that was pretty much it.
There was more to the conversation, but it was essentially up to me to do what I wanted to do," Fernando stressed, and further clarified that the two didn't talk ahead of this Thursday's game (20:45 CET).
3-pointers this season
Real Madrid
EuroLeague
"No, no, no," he reacted. "I'm just going to see him tonight and and talk to him, before and after the game."
That contest pits the last two EuroLeague champions against each other, as Panathinaikos hold a 17-10 record and Real Madrid, winners of the first game between the two sides in the 2024-25 campaign, need the win to improve their feeble 13-14 balance.
"I've heard a lot about the environment out here. The quality of the team is top tier, so I'm excited about the game and looking forward to getting out there," Fernando declared.
As Madrid are suffering on the road this season, having dropped nine of their total 13 fixtures, a win at OAKA would significantly boost both their morale and their playoff chances.
"Ramping up the regular season right now is important," Fernando maintains.
"We're trying to accummulate as many wins as we can, and this is one of those important games - if not the most important," he highlighted a few seconds before joining his team's practice session on the OAKA glass floor.
Giorgos Kyriakidis
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