Maroussi B.C.
| Maroussi B.C. K.A.E. Μαρούσι |
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| Leagues | Greek League Greek Cup |
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| Founded | 1950 | |||
| History | 1950 - present | |||
| Arena | Maroussi Indoor Hall (capacity 2,500) OAKA Indoor Hall (capacity: 19,250) |
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| Location | Maroussi, Athens, Greece | |||
| Team colors | Yellow and Black |
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| President | Vasilis Konstantinou | |||
| Head coach | Vangelis Alexandris | |||
| Championships | Saporta Cup (1): 2001 |
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| Website | maroussibc.gr | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
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Maroussi Athens B.C. (Greek: K.A.E. Μαρούσι Αθήνα), is a Greek professional basketball club that is based in Maroussi, a northern suburb of Athens, Greece. The club's full name is Gymnastikos Syllogos Amarousiou. The club competes in the Greek League. Its long-time owner was Armodios Vovos of the BVIC construction firm. The club's name sponsor is Turkish Airlines.[1]
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[edit] History
Maroussi Basketball Club (BC) is the basketball department of one of the oldest sports clubs in Greece (third oldest, founded in 1896) with a strong tradition of excellence in what is described as the country's favorite sport.
The basketball club, founded in 1950, is also known as the Gymnastikos Syllogos Amarousiou K.A.E. (abbreviated as G.S. Amarousiou K.A.E.) and is located in Maroussi, a northern suburb of Athens. The emblem of Maroussi BC is identical with the crest of the former Anavryta School, a highly regarded lyceum of Athens, traditionally the school of the Greek royal family, that used to have strong connections with the club. The basketball team (Maroussi BC) has since its creation been the preeminent department of the club. It is one of the original members of the Greek Basketball Championship and had excellent results, both domestically, and representing Greece in Europe during the 1960s and 1970s.
[edit] 1980s-1990s era
The dark period for the club started in the 1980s and continued through the 1990s. During those years the club lost its standing in the Greek A1 League and participated (often with great success) in the Greek A2 League and Greek B League, but without being able to complete a comeback to the top division. Maroussi regained its A1 status in 1998, and made it clear that it was there to stay. The team is now known in European basketball as a model team and one of the best places to play basketball in Greece. The professional staff and support from the city of Maroussi and Greek businessman Aris Vovos have created a very competitive team, a combination of younger and older players that in the following years left no opponent undefeated.
[edit] 2000s decade "The little team that could"
The year 2001 was the breakthrough year for Maroussi. The team participated in the final of the European Saporta Cup and won its first European trophy (the 6th Greek team to achieve a European Cup). After that, the team was transformed. With the Greek National Team's head coach, Greek basketball legend Panagiotis Giannakis (coach of the 2005 FIBA European Champions and 2006 World Championship runner-ups) at the head of the bench, and with the young Greek national team star Vassilis Spanoulis at point guard,[2] the team started dominating the Greek Championship, earning respect within Greek basketball.
The team made it to the championship final of the 2003-04 season in the Greek A1 League, losing to Panathinaikos Athens. Maroussi also finished in second place in the EuroCup Championship in 2004, losing to UNICS Kazan in the championship game. In those years, the team participated in 2 European Final Fours in the EuroCup. The team made it to the finals game of the Greek Cup in 2002, losing the championship game to the Euroleague powerhouse Olympiacos Piraeus. In the 2004-05 season, Maroussi finished second in the Greek League in the regular season, behind only Panathinaikos Athens. In 2006, Maroussi again made it to the finals game of the Greek Cup. This time losing to Euroleague powerhouse Panathinaikos Athens in the championship game.
[edit] Recent Years
Maroussi, without its star coach Panagiotis Giannakis, faced the new period that began in the 2006-07 season as a challenge, and continued its success. In the 2007-08 season, after a bad start, the new coach of the team, Soulis Markopoulos (hired after the firing of Russo), provided a fresh outlook in the team. Maroussi finished in 6th place in the Greek League in the regular season, but advanced to the semifinals of the playoffs. They then lost the 3rd place Euroleague series 3 games 2 to Panionios, but the 4th place finish in the Greek playoffs secured Maroussi a return to the next season's Eurocup.
In the 2008-09 season, Maroussi finished in 3rd place in the Greek League, after beating Aris Thessaloniki 3 games to 2 (despite having a home court disadvantage), and thus secured a preliminary qualification spot in the next season's Euroleague 2009–10 competition. The club was then able to qualify to the Euroleague regular season for the first time, after defeating both Aris and ALBA Berlin in Euroleague qualification playoff rounds.
Maroussi is considered to be one of the 3 most successful Greek clubs during the first decade of the 21st century, along with the Euroleague powers Panathinaikos Athens and Olympiacos Piraeus. Maroussi is currently a much feared and respected opponent in Greece and all of Europe.
[edit] 2011-2012 Disaster
At the beginning of the 2011-2012 season, Maroussi facing huge economical difficulties, after the withdrawal of financial support of the Vovos family in 2010, was disqualified from European arenas, barely managing to gather the funds necessary for participation in the Greek Professional League. However, little did that helped the historical club to rescue the hard earned respect of previous years. During the season a combination of financial problems and gross mismanagement, the latter creating a series of unfortunate events, led the historical team to its worst record in history. However and although Maroussi will be competing in the A2 Professional League in season 2012-2013, the team will always be followed by a legacy of excellence created after 10 years of playoff Semifinals battles, two Finals performances, one European Cup and one Euroleague third phase elimination. Eventually, the "little team that could" will make its comeback.
[edit] Arenas
The home stadium of Maroussi for Greek League matches is Agios Thomas Basketball Hall (Maroussi Indoor Hall), a small arena with a capacity of 2,500, located in Maroussi, Attica. The stadium always sports a nice family atmosphere for games, unlike many other Greek halls and stadiums. The club plays their European cup home games at the Athens Olympic Indoor Hall (OAKA), also located in Maroussi, Attica, which seats 19,250 fans. Maroussi also occasionally plays European cup home matches at the 14,905 seat Peace and Friendship Stadium.[3]
[edit] Roster
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Maroussi Athens BC roster
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Roster |
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[edit] Depth Chart
| Pos. | Starter | Bench | Bench | Reserve | Inactive |
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| C | Lambros Tsontzos | ||||
| PF | Dimitris Agravanis | ||||
| SF | Nestoras Kommatos | Vaggelis Sakellariou | Kostas Mantalvanos | Stefanos Fasianos | |
| SG | Prodromos Nikolaidis | Lefteris Akepsimaidis | Stelios Papafloratos | ||
| PG | Giannis Gagaloudis | Giannis Demertzis | Filippos Kalogiannidis |
[edit] Honors
- Saporta Cup: 1
- 2001
- FIBA Europe EuroCup League Runners-Up
- 2004
- A1 Greek League Championship Runners-Up
- 2004
- Greek Championship Cup Runners-Up:
- 2002, 2006
[edit] The road to the 2001 Saporta Cup victory
| Round | Team | Home | Away |
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| Group Stage |  Valencia |
82–75 | 81–95 |
 Karşıyaka İzmir |
101–92 | 99–95 | |
 Pivovarna Laško |
112–71 | 93–77 | |
 Chalon-sur-Saône |
70–62 | 56–75 | |
 Hapoel Galil Elyon |
98–82 | 83–89 | |
| 2nd Round |  Aris |
20–0 | 88–76 |
| Quarter finals |  Telekom Bonn |
102–82 | 101–91 |
| Semifinals |  UNICS Kazan |
93–81 | 87–95 |
| Final | Chalon-sur-Saône |
74–72 | |
[edit] Seasons
[edit] Notable players
[edit] Maroussi players who have played in the NBA
[edit] Notable coaches
[edit] Sponsorships
- Babis Vovos International Construction (1999–Present)
- Telestet (2001–03)
- Telecom Italia Mobile (2003–04)
- Honda (2004–06)
- Costa Coffee (2007–09)
- Turkish Airlines (2010–Present)
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Turkish Airlines signs as main sponsor of Maroussi Basketball Club" (Press release). Turkish Airlines. 2010-02-18. http://www.turkishairlines.com/en-INT/press-releases/4497/turkish-airlines-signs-as-main-sponsor-of-maroussi-basketball-club%E2%80%A6.aspx. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ Euroleague.net Team History.
- ^ Talkbasket.net Maroussi to play in SEF.
[edit] External links
- Official Website (Greek)
- Official Website (English)
- Maroussi Basket Website (Greek)
- Euroleague.net 2009-10 Team Profile
- Euroleague.net 2009-10 Team Focus
- Basketpedya.com Team Profile
- HEBA Team Profile (Greek)
- Greek Basketball Federation (Greek)
- Galanis Sports Data - Maroussi 2009-10
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