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63-583: The Hellenic Basketball Association ( HEBA ), is a governing body for the sport of basketball in Greece . In Greek , it is officially known as the Ελληνικός Σύνδεσμος Ανωνύμων Καλαθοσφαιρικών Εταιρειών (ΕΣΑΚΕ) ( LA : Ellinikós Sýndesmos Anonýmon Kalathosfairikón Etaireión (ESAKE)), which means, the Hellenic Association of Limited Basketball Companies in English . The HEBA organizes and directs

126-460: A general basketball euphoria in the country. Since then, the Greece men's national teams have achieved consistent international success, leading Greece to join Russia , Serbia , Croatia , Italy , Spain , France , and Lithuania in the circle of European basketball powers. In addition to the Greece national team's triumph in 1987, they won the gold medal at the 2005 EuroBasket , silver medals at

189-429: A larger multisports club are examples of this (namely, Portuguese SADs ( Sociedade Anónima Desportiva ) such as Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Sporting Clube de Portugal , or Spanish SADs ( Sociedad Anónima Deportiva ) Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. and Real Betis Balompié S.A.D. , as well as Italian clubs like Società Sportiva Lazio S.p.A. ). Some sports teams are owned and financed by a single non-sports company , for example

252-672: A part of the great Greek Panellinios teams of the 1950s. AEK made it to the 1966 Final Four of the FIBA European Champions Cup of the 1965–66 season , which was the first time that the EuroLeague ever used a final four system, thus becoming the first Greek team to ever play in a final four in the EuroLeague. AEK also won the championship of the European-wide 2nd-tier level Cup Winners' Cup of

315-521: A player on one sports team within a sports and entertainment company to automatically play for another team in the same company. On the other hand, American varsity teams are generally organized into a structure forming a true multi-sport club belonging to an educational institution, but varsity collegiate athletics are almost never referred to as clubs; "club sports" in American colleges and universities refer to sports that are not directly sponsored by

378-423: A score of 67–37. Nisiotis is credited by most as being mainly responsible for the development of the sport in Greece in the 1930s and 1940s. Panellinios also featured the great scorer Antonis Christeas . The Spanoudakis brothers, Ioannis and Alekos , who were players of Olympiacos , were among the first early important pioneers of the modern style sport in the country. Boston Celtics players Bob Cousy , and

441-471: A sequence of 4 in a row and 5 out of 6 (1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968), surrounded by an earlier Greek League championship in 1958, and another later one in 1970. Making it a total of 7 Greek League championships won in 11 seasons for the club in that era. The next great individual Greek player was Georgios Kolokithas , who was considered to be one of the greatest scorers in European basketball in his time in

504-901: A single sport or to several ( multi-sport clubs ). The term "athletics club" is sometimes used for a general sports club, rather than one dedicated to athletics proper. Friedrich Ludwig Jahn 's Turners movement, first realized at Volkspark Hasenheide in Berlin in 1811, was the origin of the modern sports clubs . Larger sports clubs are characterized by having professional and amateur departments in various sports such as bike polo , football , basketball , futsal , cricket , volleyball , handball , rink hockey , bowling , water polo , rugby , track and field athletics , boxing , baseball , cycling , tennis , rowing , gymnastics , and others, including less traditional sports such as airsoft , billiards , e-sports , orienteering , paintball , or roller derby . The teams and athletes belonging to

567-719: A single sport. There are some exceptions, especially when multiple such teams are under one ownership structure, in which case the club may be referred to as a "sports and entertainment" company; see, for example, the One Buffalo sports club, which fields an NFL team (the Buffalo Bills ), two hockey teams ( Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Americans ), professional lacrosse ( Buffalo Bandits and Rochester Knighthawks ), and general athletics and fitness (Impact Sports and Performance). Even in such circumstances, collective bargaining agreements and contract laws generally do not allow

630-421: A sports club may compete in several different leagues, championships and tournaments wearing the same club colors and using the same club name, sharing also the same club fan base , supporters and facilities. Many professional sports clubs have an associate system where the affiliated supporters pay an annuity fee. In those cases, supporters become eligible to attend the club's home matches and exhibitions across

693-1441: Is also a multisports organisation, with badminton , cricket, association football and tennis facilities. In addition, like in several other countries, many universities and colleges develop a wide range of student sport activities including at a professional or semi-professional level. Fulham F.C. once ran a professional rugby league team and rowing club, which other football clubs have emulated since. Many football clubs originate from cricket teams. Today, most major cities have separate clubs for each sport (e.g. Manchester United Football Club and Lancashire County Cricket Club are based in Manchester ). Many clubs internationally describe themselves as football clubs ("FC", "Football Club" in British English and "Fußball-Club" in German; "CF", Clube de Futebol in Portuguese and Club de Fútbol in Spanish). Generally, British football clubs field only football teams. Their counterparts in several other countries tend to be full multi-sport clubs, even when called football clubs ( Futebol Clube do Porto ; Fußball-Club Bayern München ; Futbol Club Barcelona ). The equivalent abbreviation "SC" (for "Soccer Club")

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756-415: Is more common in the case of individual sports, such as the sport of athletics , where a distance runner may compete for a track and field team as well as a road running team, and also have further membership at a local sports club for training purposes. Some national sports bodies require an athlete to state a priority order of their club membership, outlining which club has the higher, or first, claim on

819-493: Is the owner of the Cardiff Arms Park site. It is responsible for much of the premier amateur sporting activities in city with cricket ( Cardiff Cricket Club ), rugby union (it is the major shareholder of the semi-professional Cardiff Rugby Club ), field hockey ( Cardiff & Met Hockey Club ), tennis ( Lisvane (CAC) Tennis Club ) and bowls ( Cardiff Athletic Bowls Club ) sections. Catford Wanderers Sports Club

882-467: The 1967–68 season , which was the first European trophy won by any Greek sports team. In the final game against Slavia VŠ Praha , which took place in Pangrati , Athens , at Panathenaic Stadium , the attendance was 80,000 people seated in the stadium, and 40,000 people standing, with an additional 3,000 police officers to keep order. AEK won 5 Greek League championships in the decade of the 1960s, in

945-526: The 1986 FIBA World Cup , and finished the tournament in 10th place. The top 10 world finish in 1986, was a prelude to the long success that was to come for the Greece men's national team. The next year, Greece hosted the 1987 EuroBasket , and the Greece national team won the tournament's gold medal. During the tournament, they had wins over the legendary 1980s European national teams of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia . Greek basketball player Nikos Galis

1008-488: The 1989 EuroBasket , and the 2006 FIBA World Cup , and the bronze medal at the 2009 EuroBasket . At the professional club level, the Greece men's basketball clubs have, in European-wide Cup competitions, organized under both FIBA and EuroLeague Basketball , won 19 European championships, 10 of which have been won in the 1st-tier level EuroLeague competition, as well as three world club championships at

1071-654: The EuroLeague Finals in 1998. It was during the 1990s, that the Greek League was widely considered to be the best men's club national domestic basketball league in Europe. The Greek Women's Cup also began in the 1990s, as it started with the 1995–96 season. The decade of the 2000s in Greek basketball was marked by the dominance of Panathinaikos at the men's top-tier club level. Panathinaikos' dynasty began at

1134-534: The FIBA Club World Cup , bringing the total amount of international titles won by Greek men's clubs to 21. At the women's professional club level, Athinaikos won the title of the 2nd-tier EuroCup , in 2010 . The sport of basketball has a long history in the country of Greece, having first come to the country in the year 1910. The first official championship of the Greek League , then called

1197-796: The Finals of the 1st-tier level men's EuroLeague competition. Panathinaikos also won the international worldwide club title, the FIBA Club World Cup competition, in the year 1996 . Olympiacos also won the same title in 2013 . AEK Athens also won that title in 2019 . Panathinaikos Olympiacos AEK Aris PAOK Sports club Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and may play other similar clubs on occasion, watched mostly by family and friends, to large commercial organisations with professional players which have teams that regularly compete against those of other clubs and sometimes attract very large crowds of paying spectators . Clubs may be dedicated to

1260-614: The Greek A2 Basket League ( Ελληνική Α2 καλαθοσφαίρισης ), while conversely, the top two teams from the A2 are promoted to the Basket League. The first placing 8 teams of the regular season qualify for the league's playoffs. The Greek Women's Basket League began in 1967, and consists of 12 teams. The Women's A National Category ( Α' Εθνικής Κατηγορίας Γυναικών ) began with the 1984–85 season, and it became known as

1323-532: The Greek American player Lou Tsioropoulos , came to Greece in the 1950s, and gave teaching clinics on what the Celtics were doing, and how they were playing the game at the time. The Spanoudakis brothers learned directly from them, and were among the first players in Greece to incorporate much of the American style of basketball, and to begin playing a brand of basketball in Greece that incorporated many of

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1386-566: The Greek Basketball League (GBL), which is Greece's top-tier level professional competition of basketball , that is contested by sports clubs . HEBA has been in charge of the top-tier level professional club basketball league in Greece, since the 1992–93 basketball season, when it took over those duties from the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK). The HEBA also oversees the organization of

1449-841: The Greek Super Cup , the HEBA Greek All-Star Game , and the HEBA Hall of Fame . The HEBA is also a member of the Union of European Leagues of Basketball (ULEB). A new logo was presented in 2010, which replaced the older HEBA logo. Basketball in Greece Basketball in Greece erupted with the win of the Greece men's national basketball team at the 1987 EuroBasket in Athens , which caused

1512-610: The United States major institutions like The New York Athletic Club and Los Angeles Athletic Club serve as athletic clubs that participate in multiple sports. Examples also abound of sports clubs that are in effect one sports team. Each team from the NFL (American football), CFL (Canadian football), NBA (basketball), MLB (baseball), NHL (ice hockey) or MLS (association football) North American sports leagues , can be called sports clubs, but in practice, they focus solely on

1575-625: The 1960s. He was the Greek League Top Scorer 3 times, in the years 1964, 1966, and 1967. He was also the EuroBasket Top Scorer twice, in the years 1967 and 1969 . He was named to the FIBA European Selection in 1970. After the great career that he had, Kolokithas was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. The Greek Women's League began with the 1967–68 season. The decade of

1638-534: The 1970s was dominated at the men's top club level by Panathinaikos , as they won the Greek Basket League championship in 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, and 1977. In total, the club won 6 Greek League championships during the 1970s. During this era, the club featured famous Greek players such as: Georgios Kolokithas , Apostolos Kontos , Dimitris Kokolakis , Memos Ioannou , and Takis Koroneos . Olympiacos also won 2 Greek League championships during

1701-540: The 1970s, winning the title in both 1976 and 1978. The club featured famous Greek players like Steve Giatzoglou and Georgios Kastrinakis , as well as players like Georgios Barlas , Paul Melini , and Pavlos Diakoulas . In 1976, the first official men's Greek Cup tournament was held. Olympiacos dominated the Greek Cup in its early years, as they won the first 3 editions of the tournament (1976, 1977, and 1978). Previously, two Attica State Cup tournaments had been held in

1764-493: The 1990s as well (1990, 1992). Aris also had good success on the European-wide level in this era, as they made it to the top-tier level EuroLeague Final Four in 3 straight years, 1988 EuroLeague Final Four , 1989 EuroLeague Final Four , and 1990 EuroLeague Final Four . During these years, Aris was coached by Giannis Ioannidis , and was led by the legendary Greek players Nikos Galis and Panagiotis Giannakis . During

1827-634: The 1990s. They also won 2 Greek Cups, in 1994 and 1997. In this same time period, they made it to the EuroLeague Final Four in 1994 , 1995 , 1997 , and 1999 . They played in the EuroLeague Final in 1994, 1995, and 1997. In 1997, they won the Triple Crown in basketball, as they won the Greek League, the Greek Cup, and the EuroLeague, all in the same season, becoming the first Greek team to do so. In those years, Olympiacos

1890-717: The 2000s, the Greece men's national basketball team was consistently ranked among the top 4-5 best national teams in the world, by the FIBA World Rankings . During this time, Greece had numerous top 5 place finishes in all of the world's three biggest and most important senior level tournaments, the FIBA EuroBasket , the FIBA World Cup , and the Summer Olympic Games . From 2003, to 2009, Greece had an impressive run of top 5 finishes in

1953-604: The EuroLeague tournament. The club advanced to the final of the 1954 San Remo Tournament, which they lost 81–74 to the Italian League club Borletti Milano . Panellinios then won the 1955 Brussels Tournament, by defeating the Yugoslav League club Crvena zvezda in the final, by a score of 91–67. Panellinios also won the 1956 San Remo Tournament, by defeating the Italian League club Minganti Bologna , by

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2016-428: The European-wide 3rd-tier level FIBA Korać Cup in 1997 , and the Greek Cup in 1998. Aris' main rivals, PAOK , also had a lot of success around this time. PAOK won the Greek League championship in 1992, the Greek Cup in 1995, the European-wide 2nd-tier level Saporta Cup, in 1991 , and the European-wide 3rd-tier level FIBA Korać Cup , in 1994 . They also played at the 1993 EuroLeague Final Four . In those days, PAOK

2079-477: The Panhellenic Championship, was contested as regional champions playing against each other to decide a winner, starting with the 1927–28 season. The great Greek athlete, Faidon Matthaiou , is considered to be the patriarch of the sport in the country. He was the country's first great player in the sport. He led Greece's senior national team to the bronze medal at the 1949 EuroBasket , in

2142-493: The Women's A1 National Category ( Α1 Εθνικής Κατηγορίας Γυναικών ) in 1997. The men's Greek Basketball Super Cup was held for the first time in 2020 . The men's Greek Basketball Cup was held for the first time in 1976. After 45 cups, Panathinaikos has won the most Greek Cups with 19. From 1995 to 2004, the tournament was held in a Final Four style tournament. It is organized by the Hellenic Basketball Federation (E.O.K.) . In

2205-638: The athlete's services. In many regions of the world like Europe , North Africa , West Asia , the Indian subcontinent or Central and South America , sports clubs with several sports departments (multisports clubs) or branches, including highly competitive professional teams, are very popular and have developed into some of the most powerful and representative sports institutions in those places. In general, student sports can be described as composed by multisports clubs, each one representing its educational institution and competing in several sport disciplines. In

2268-508: The champion was chosen through games between the regional champions. In 1963, the A National Category (Greek: Α' Εθνική Κατηγορία ) was created. In 1992, the championship abandoned its amateur status and was officially recognized by FIBA Europe as a fully professional league under the name HEBA A1 ( ΕΣΑΚΕ Α1 ), organized by the Hellenic Basketball Clubs Association (HEBA) . The league now operates under

2331-607: The club's head coach . Under Obradović, the club also won the 2000 EuroLeague championship , played in the finals of the 2001 FIBA SuproLeague , and won the 2002 EuroLeague championship . In those years (1997–98 to 2001–02), Panathinaijos featured players like: Fragiskos Alvertis , Dino Rađja , Byron Scott , Fanis Christodoulou , Nikos Oikonomou , Antonis Fotsis , Georgios Kalaitzis , Nando Gentile , Nikos Boudouris , Željko Rebrača , Johnny Rogers , Oded Kattash , Darryl Middleton , İbrahim Kutluay , Lazaros Papadopoulos , Giannis Giannoulis , Pepe Sánchez , Michael Koch , and

2394-424: The club's dynasty, it also featured players like: Lefteris Subotić , Nikos Filippou , Vangelis Vourtzoumis , Vassilis Lipiridis , Georgios Doxakis , Manthos Katsoulis , and Michalis Romanidis . At one point during Aris' Greek League dynasty, the club was so dominant, that it won 80 consecutive games in the top-tier level Greek League, from 1985 to 1989. The Greece men's national basketball team qualified for

2457-596: The colleges but by student organizations (see National Club Football Association and American Collegiate Hockey Association for two leagues consisting entirely of college "club" teams in American football and ice hockey , respectively). In the United Kingdom , almost all major sports organisations are dedicated to a single sport, the exception to this is Cardiff Athletic Club based in Cardiff , Wales, which

2520-438: The end of the 1990s, when they won the Greek League championship in 1998 and 1999, following their EuroLeague championship in 1996 . They then won the Greek League championship in 2000 and 2001, making it a run of 4 straight Greek League championships. Their 1998 and 1999 Greek League championship teams were coached by Lefteris Subotić . Starting with the 1999–00 season, the legendary Serbian coach, Željko Obradović , became

2583-447: The entire season, and have the right to practice almost every kind of sport at the club's facilities. Registered associate member fees, attendance receipts, sponsoring contracts, team merchandising , TV rights, and athlete/player transfer fees , are usually the primary sources of sports club financing. In addition, there are sports clubs, or its teams, which are publicly listed - several professional European football clubs belonging to

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2646-523: The field of competitive club sports, an athlete will typically be registered to only one club for a given discipline and will compete for that club exclusively for the duration of a competition or season. Exceptions to this include player trades and transfers, athlete loan agreements and unattached trialists. Where an athlete competes in multiple disciplines, or where club membership has social or training aspects such as local athletic clubs, then athletes may register with multiple clubs. Multiple membership

2709-509: The first 3 championships of the decade (1980, 1981, and 1982). In 1983, Aris won the Greek League championship, being led by its legendary scorer Nikos Galis . Panathinaikos won the championship again in 1984, beginning the decade by winning 4 of the first 5 Greek League championships. Panathionaikos' great team to begin the decade of the 1980s, featured players like: Apostolos Kontos , Dimitris Kokolakis , Takis Koroneos , David Stergakos , Memos Ioannou , and Liveris Andritsos . After that,

2772-574: The first tournament it competed in, right after the national team had been formed. Matthaiou would go on to become one of the best players in Europe in the 1950s. The first great club team in the history of Greek basketball was the Greek League club Panellinios . Panellinios featured 5 great players, known as the "Golden Five" ("Chrysi Pentada"), or "The Fabulous Five": Themis Cholevas ( PG ), Dinos Papadimas ( SG ), Mimis Stefanidis ( SF ), Panos Manias ( PF ), and Aristeidis Roubanis ( C ). The Golden Five, and its head coach , Nikos Nisiotis ,

2835-853: The great Serbian legend, Dejan Bodiroga . In 2002, AEK Athens briefly stopped the Panathinaikos run of 4 straight championships, as they won the 2002 Greek League championship. AEK also won the Greek Cup title in 2000 and 2001. In those years, AEK was coached by Dušan Ivković and Dragan Šakota , and featured players like: İbrahim Kutluay , Andrew Betts , Michalis Kakiouzis , Dimos Dikoudis , Martin Müürsepp , Nikos Chatzis , Geert Hammink , J. R. Holden , Christos Tapoutos , Jim Bilba , Ioannis Bourousis , Pero Antić , Arijan Komazec , Chris Carr , and Nikos Zisis . Panathinaikos then continued their dominance under coach Obradović, winning

2898-422: The legendary Aris Greek League dynasty of the 1980s, which was called, "The Emperor" rose. Aris won the Greek League championship in every remaining year of the decade, and also won the first two championships of the 1990s (1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991). Aris also dominated the Greek Cup in the last half of the decade, as they won it in 1987, 1988, and 1989, and added two of the first three cups of

2961-399: The moves and plays that they had been shown by the Celtics players. In the 1963–64 season, the top men's basketball Greek League formed into a national league system for the first time. Up until that point, the Greek men's national basketball championship had been contested by teams locally at the regional level, with the champions of each regional level then playing against each other. With

3024-413: The name of Greek Basket League. The Basket League is ranked as one of the 5 "A" level national domestic leagues in European basketball by the European national basketball league rankings, and was considered Europe's best pro national domestic league during the 1990s. This professional league consists of 14 teams. Under the regulations, the bottom two teams at the end of the regular season are relegated to

3087-434: The next 9 straight Greek League championships (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011). They also won the Greek Cup title in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. In addition to that, Panathinaikos won the EuroLeague championship in 2007 , the EuroLeague championship in 2009 , and added the EuroLeague championship in 2011 , to begin the next decade. They also won the Triple Crown , in 2007 and 2009. This

3150-734: The several sports teams owned by Red Bull GmbH and collectively known as Red Bulls . Other examples of this are the several sports teams owned by Bayer AG and Philips corporations through the Bayer 04 Leverkusen and PSV Eindhoven respectively, that originally were works teams , the teams owned by the Samsung Group ( Samsung Sports ), and the teams owned by the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). They may compete in several different sports and leagues, being headquartered in some cases across several countries. In

3213-692: The silver medal at the 2006 FIBA World Cup , where they also beat Team USA . They followed that up with a 4th-place finish in Europe, at the 2007 EuroBasket , a 5th-place finish in the world, at the 2008 Summer Olympics , and a 3rd-place finish in Europe, at the 2009 EuroBasket . The 2005 and 2006 medal-winning teams were coached by Giannakis, and featured players like: Dimitris Diamantidis , Theo Papaloukas , Vassilis Spanoulis , Nikos Zisis , Lazaros Papadopoulos , Michalis Kakiouzis , Dimos Dikoudis , Antonis Fotsis , Kostas Tsartsaris , Nikos Chatzivrettas , Ioannis Bourousis , Sofoklis Schortsanitis , and Panagiotis Vasilopoulos . The 2009 medal-winning team

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3276-550: The start of the 1963–64 season, a true nationwide league system, called the Alpha National Category, was formed for the first time The next great club team in men's Greek basketball was AEK , which became the first Greek team to win a European trophy in any sport. AEK was led by great players such as: Georgios Amerikanos , Georgios Trontzos , who was the second 7 footer to play for Gonzaga University , Christos Zoupas , and Antonis Christeas , who had also been

3339-415: The three biggest FIBA tournaments – under head coach Giannis Ioannidis , Greece finished in 5th place in Europe, at the 2003 EuroBasket . Then, under head coach Panagiotis Giannakis , Greece finished in 5th place in the world at the 2004 Summer Olympics . Following that, Greece finished 1st in Europe, as they won the gold medal at the 2005 EuroBasket ; and then they finished 2nd in the world, as they won

3402-434: The women's competition, the cup tournament was first held in the year 1996. Greek men's professional basketball teams have a total of 29 appearances in the finals of European cup competitions, of which they have won a total of 18 trophies. One of the greatest achievements of Greek basketball are the victories of Panathinaikos ( 1996 , 2000 , 2002 , 2007 , 2009 , 2011 , 2024 ) and Olympiacos ( 1997 , 2012 , 2013 ) in

3465-440: The years 1967 and 1971, with AEK winning both of those tournaments. Aris finished the decade by winning its first Greek League championship since 1930, in 1979. Aris was led by the great scorer of the time, Charis Papageorgiou . The great Greek scorer Vassilis Goumas , had the best years of his career in the '70s. The decade of the 1980s began with another run of dominance by Panathinaikos in men's club basketball. They won

3528-476: Was coached by Dušan Ivković and Soulis Markopoulos , and featured players like: Bane Prelević , Walter Berry , Panagiotis Fasoulas , Cliff Levingston , Ken Barlow , Zoran Savić , Efthimis Rentzias , and Peja Stojaković . Then it was the biggest Greek clubs, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos , that began to have a lot of success in Greece and Europe. Olympiacos won 5 straight Greek League championships, from 1993 to 1997, forming its own Greek League dynasty in

3591-436: Was coached by Giannis Ioannidis and Dušan Ivković , and featured players like: Žarko Paspalj , Walter Berry , Argiris Kambouris , Georgios Sigalas , Franko Nakić , Milan Tomić , Dragan Tarlać , Roy Tarpley , Panagiotis Fasoulas , Efthimis Bakatsias , Eddie Johnson , Sasha Volkov , David Rivers , Nasos Galakteros , Willie Anderson , Dimitris Papanikolaou , Chris Welp , and Aleksey Savrasenko . While Olympiacos

3654-401: Was coached by Lithuanian Jonas Kazlauskas , and returned Spanoulis, Zisis, Fotsis, Bourousis, and Schortsanitis, from the earlier medal-winning teams. Only Spanoulis, Zisis, and Fotsis, were a part of all three of the medal-winning teams. The first official men's basketball championship in Greece was held in the 1927–28 season. Until 1963 however, there was no unified national championship, and

3717-443: Was considered to be one of the best teams in Europe at the time in the 1950s, as it won the invitational European club tournament 2 out of 3 years, and made the final in the other year. The invitational European club tournament was the forerunner tournament of the EuroLeague . During that era, Panellinios took part in the biggest international club tournaments in Europe, the predecessors of the EuroLeague that were then held instead of

3780-653: Was dominating in Greece, and having great success in Europe, Panathinaikos also had great success in Europe. Panathinaikos made the EuroLeague Final Four in 1994, 1995, and 1996 . In 1996, they won the EuroLeague championship, and became the first Greek team to ever win Europe's top-tier level basketball club championship. The 1996 EuroLeague champion team was coached by Božidar Maljković , and featured players like: Fragiskos Alvertis , Dominique Wilkins , Stojko Vranković , Panagiotis Giannakis , Michael Koch , and Nikos Oikonomou . AEK Athens also made it to

3843-438: Was led by great players like Nikos Galis , Panagiotis Giannakis , Panagiotis Fasoulas , and Fanis Christodoulou . In Greek men's club basketball, the 1990s started off with the ending of the great Aris dynasty of the 1980s. At the tail end of its dynasty, Aris won the Greek League championship in 1990 and 1991, the Greek Cup title in 1992, and the European-wide 2nd-tier level FIBA Saporta Cup , in 1993 . They also won

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3906-599: Was named the tournament's MVP . Greece then won the silver medal at the next EuroBasket tournament, 1989 EuroBasket . Over the two EuroBasket tournaments of 1987 and 1989, Greece had a total of four wins against the Soviet Union (twice) and Yugoslavia (twice). This established Greece's senior men's national team, as one of the top 4 best national teams in the world at the time, along with the USA , Soviet Union , and Yugoslavia . During this era, Greece's senior national team

3969-462: Was the high point period of the club's great dynasty. During these years, the club featured several well-known players, such as: Dimitris Diamantidis , Antonis Fotsis , Kostas Tsartsaris , Dimos Dikoudis , Mike Batiste , Sani Bečirovič , Drew Nicholas , Dušan Kecman , Giorgi Shermadini , Stratos Perperoglou , Šarūnas Jasikevičius , Nikos Chatzivrettas , Dejan Tomašević , Nikola Peković , Ramūnas Šiškauskas , and Vassilis Spanoulis . During

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