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Basketball / Maccabi tips off against familiar faces of Greek 'Dream Team' By Elad Zeevi Maccabi Tel Aviv tips off tonight in its first game against Euroleague group rivals Olympiacos, a team which will look sadly familiar to Maccabi fans - the Greek powerhouse acquired big man Nikola Vujcic and guard Yotam Halperin from Tel Aviv during the off-season. Olympiacos coach Panagiotis Giannakis signed on with the team in February and inherited a squad that disappointed last season under Israeli coach Pini Gershon. This summer, he was awarded a $40 million budget and proceeded to build a team described as the "Greek Dream Team" in Athens. Advertisement So far, the results have been convincing: 5-0 in the Greek league, and 2-1 in the Euroleague to be locked in second place in Group A with Maccabi, behind Croatia's Cibona. "The real question is whether Giannakis is built for the top tier of Europe," says a Greek journalist. "If you fail with a roster like this, you really have a problem. Maybe a string of bad Euroleague results will burst the image he has of a hero among Greek fans." With his vast budget, Giannakis recruited shooting guard Josh Childress from the NBA's Atlanta Hawks on an unprecedented $20 million three-year contract, and point man Theodoros Papaloukas from CSKA Moscow on a $15 million three-year deal. Vujcic, a team leader and fan favorite in Tel Aviv, has struggled to find his place in the Greek capital. The Greek league is more physical than he is accustomed to, and he has had difficulty acclimating to his new surroundings and meshing with the other players. The signing of Halperin, who many Olympiacos fans also believed was "soft," also came as a surprise. Giannakis was impressed by the Israeli in the last season's final Olympiacos-Maccabi bout, and convinced him to trade in the playing minutes he received in his homeland for a significantly more lucrative contract. The Greeks seem cautiously satisfied so far with the new arrivals from Israel. "Yotam and Nikola are making a great effort to acclimate and we're satisfied with them," said assistant coach Manos Manouselis. "Like most players, they need time to get used to the new players, but they will contribute a lot to us this year." Childress has had a somewhat easier time settling in to his new surroundings, perhaps because he brings with him the luster of the NBA, having been an effective force off the bench in Atlanta - the 25-year-old averaged 11 points with a .522 field goal percentage in 31 minutes per game over his four seasons there. He even wagered his salary with new teammate Sophocles Schortsanitis that he could learn Greek by the end of the season (Childress starred at Stanford before going pro). Tonight, Maccabi will be greeted on the parquet of Athens' Peace and Friendship Stadium by thousands of fired-up fans. Giannakis' shopping spree raised interest in the club to record levels, and the team has already sold out its season tickets. Bookmark to del.icio.us   A ringing endorsement Jimmy Carter says Obama will waste no time in pursuing Middle East peace. Peres' olive branch Israel's president says the Arab peace plan is an opening for progress.

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