Basketball team in Athens, Greece
Maroussi B.C.
(
Greek
:
K.A.E. Μαρο?σι
) alternately translated as
Marousi
,
Amaroussi
, or
Amaroussion
, is a professional
basketball
club that is based in
Marousi
, a northern suburb of
Athens
,
Greece
. The club's full name is Gymnastikos Syllogos Maroussi Basketball Club, which is commonly abbreviated as G.S. Maroussi B.C.
The club currently plays in the
top-tier
Greek Basket League
.
History
[
edit
]
1950?1998
[
edit
]
The multi-sports club
Gymnastikos Syllogos Amarousiou
(Amarousi Sports Club) was founded in 1896, the same year that Maroussi native
Spyridon Louis
won the
Olympic marathon
at the
1896 Summer Olympics
. The club's men's basketball section started in 1950.
The basketball section played in the Greek minor leagues for the first two decades of its existence. It reached the Greek top division, the
A National Category (Alpha League)
in 1969, where it played for one season before being
relegated
.
In the 1970s, the club was led by Nikos Darivas at
point guard
and
Dimitris Fosses
at
center
,
[1]
and starting with the 1971?72 season, the club played in the Greek top division for all but one year of the following decade. Maroussi qualified for the
European third-tier
level
FIBA Kora? Cup
's
1978?79 season
.
The club was then relegated after the 1980?81 season, and alternated between the second-tier level
A2 League
and the third-tier level
B League
for the next 18 years.
1998?2010
[
edit
]
Maroussi was
promoted
back up to the
Greek First Division
for the 1998?99 season, and moved from the Spiros Louis Gym to the newly constructed
Maroussi Saint Thomas Indoor Hall
.
Maroussi won the title of the
European second-tier
level
FIBA Saporta Cup
, during the
2000?01 season
. That team was coached by
Vangelis Alexandris
, and it featured the inside-outside scoring tandem of
Jimmy Oliver
and
Ashraf Amaya
, as well as the rebounding skills of
Vassil Evtimov
.
[2]
Maroussi became the
sixth
Greek team to win a European continental-wide title.
The club at this time received financial backing from Greek businessman
Aris Vovos
.
[3]
The club then played in the second-tier level
FIBA Saporta Cup
, and its successor, the
EuroCup
, the third-tier level
FIBA Kora? Cup
, and the fourth-tier level
FIBA Europe Champions Cup
. Maroussi reached the final of the third-tier level
FIBA Europe League
's (later called
FIBA EuroChallenge
)
2003?04 season
, but they lost in the final to the Russian club
UNICS Kazan
. In the
Greek Cup
, Maroussi reached the Greek Cup Final Four in the 1999?00 season and the Greek Cup Final in the 2001?02 season.
Under the club's
head coach
at the time,
Panagiotis Giannakis
, and with the young star
play-maker
of the club at the time,
Vassilis Spanoulis
(recipient of the
Greek League Best Young Player
and
Greek League Most Improved Player
awards in 2003 and 2004), the club finished in second place in the
2003?04 regular season
, with a 21?5 record. It then beat
Peristeri
and
AEK Athens
, which had been the league's runner-up the preceding year, and the league's champions the year before that, in the playoffs, before ultimately losing in the Greek League Finals to
Panathinaikos
.
[2]
In the
2004?05 season
, the club was second in the Greek League regular season again, and finished fourth in the league overall, after postseason losses to
AEK Athens
in the semifinals, and
Panionios
in the 3rd place playoff series.
Spanoulis
then moved to
Panathinaikos
in the summer of 2005. In the
2005?06 season
, Maroussi finished the regular season in third place, behind Panathinaikos and
Olympiacos
, and was subsequently defeated Olympiacos in the playoff semifinals. Maroussi then lost the 3rd place playoff series against
Aris
. In that season's Greek Cup, they were beaten in the Greek Cup Final.
Coach
Giannakis
then left Maroussi in 2006, to concentrate on managing the senior men's
Greek national basketball team
. In the following
2006?07 season
, the Maroussi side finished the regular season in 8th place, and reached the first round of the playoffs, where they lost to Panathinaikos.
In the
2007?08
season,
Soulis Markopoulos
joined the team as its new head coach, and Maroussi finished in 6th place in the regular season. In the playoffs, Maroussi beat
Aris
in the first round, and then took
Olympiacos
to a 5th and deciding game in the semi-finals, which Maroussi lost by just one point (64?63). The team then lost the 3rd place playoff series to
Panionios
.
Under head coach Markopoulos (who was
Greek League Coach of the Year
in 2008), Maroussi finished in 4th place in the
Greek Basket League 2008?09
regular season. They then beat
Panellinios
in the first round of the playoffs, before losing to Olympiacos in the playoff semifinals. However, they won the 3rd place playoff series against Aris, and thus qualified for the
European top-tier
level
EuroLeague
.
[4]
In 2010,
Markopoulos
left Maroussi for
PAOK
, and he and was replaced as the team's head coach by
Georgios Bartzokas
, a former Maroussi player.
Maroussi beat fellow Greek League club
Aris
, and the
German League
club
Alba Berlin
, in the
EuroLeague 2009?10
season's
Qualifying Round
, to reach the regular season group stage of the competition. In
the EuroLeague's Group C
, they beat the
Israeli League
club
Maccabi Tel Aviv
at home, and reached the
EuroLeague Top 16 Phase
, where they beat fellow Greek club Panathinaikos and the
Adriatic League
club
Partizan Belgrade
, while playing home games at the
Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall
.
In the
2009?10 season
, Maroussi finished the regular season in third place. They then beat
Kolossos
in the first round of the playoffs, but they were then beaten in the semi-final of the playoffs by
Olympiacos
. In the 3rd place playoff series, they beat
Panellinios
, to again qualify for the next season of the
EuroLeague
.
Maroussi player
Kostas Kaimakoglou
was selected to the
Greek League Best Five
team, and
Georgios Bartzokas
became the third Maroussi head coach in five years to receive the
Greek League's Best Coach
award.
2010?present
[
edit
]
The club's decline
[
edit
]
Club President
Aris Vovos
left the club during the 2010 off-season, leaving a big gap in the club's finances.
[5]
After a consortium led by Giorgos Gamaris and Thanasis Maris, failed to gain control of the club, its ownership reverted to the club's
amateur
section in October.
[6]
The team was then only allowed to be registered to the
top-tier
level
Greek Basket League
's
2010?11 season
on appeal. The player's union criticized the club for late salary payments. The
EuroLeague
revoked the club's licence to play in the Qualifying Rounds of the competition.
[7]
The former
Panathinaikos
club
football
player
Vasilis Konstantinou
, a
Marousi
native who had played youth basketball with the team, was named team president in October. Head coach
Vangelis Alexandris
returned to replace the departing
Bartzokas
, whilst experienced players such as
Nestoras Kommatos
,
Ioannis Gagaloudis
, and
Dimitrios Charitopoulos
were brought into the team to form a new squad following a player exodus.
[8]
Maroussi finished the
2010?11 season
in 5th place in the regular season standings. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to
Aris
. By finishing in the top 5 in the Greek League, they qualified for the next season's edition of the
European 2nd-tier
level
EuroCup
, but they were not permitted to participate in the competition, due to financial issues.
In May 2011, Maroussi was ordered by
FIBA
's Basketball Arbitral Tribunal (BAT) to pay thousands of
euros
to former player
Jared Homan
in unpaid salaries and bonuses.
[9]
Maroussi was unable to pay Homan, or
Georgios Diamantopoulos
, who won a similar ruling against the club in August of that year. Due to this, the club was then banned by FIBA from being able to register any new players in the Greek League, in November 2011. A temporary financial agreement with Homan, led to the suspension of the ban on registering any new players for one day, during which
Frank Elegar
was recruited to the club.
Nikos Linardos
became the team's new head coach for the
2011?12 season
, which began with a long losing streak, despite Maroussi player
Nestoras Kommatos
being one of the league's top scorers, and Maroussi player
Ioannis Gagaloudis
being one of the league's
assists
leaders.
The team's financial crisis deepened.
Gagaloudis
,
Kommatos
,
Charitopoulos
, and
Elegar
all left the club, due to unpaid salaries. Teenagers from the club's youth team, such as
Dimitrios Agravanis
and Lampros Tsontzos, were then moved into the team's starting five for Greek League games. The club was also prohibited from selling any tickets to home games, due to unpaid taxes, and it ceased paying its players and training staff.
[10]
Maroussi finished the
2011?12 season
with a 1?23 regular season record, winning their only game of the season against
Peristeri
, another team that was suffering from financial problems at the time.
[11]
Due to going into bankruptcy, the club was then
demoted
to the
third-tier
level
semi-professional
competition, the
Greek B League
, for the 2012?13 season. The club was then
demoted
to the fourth-tier level
Greek C League
, for the 2015?16 season.
For the 2016?17 season, the club was
promoted
up to the Greek B League. Then, for the
2017?18 season
, the club was promoted up to the second-tier level
Greek A2 League
. In the 2019?20 season, the club played in the Greek 3rd Division, and in the 2020?21 season, the club played in the Greek 2nd Division.
Arenas
[
edit
]
Maroussi plays its national domestic home games at the 1,700 seat capacity
Maroussi Saint Thomas Indoor Hall
, which is leased to the club by the municipality of
Marousi
. The club played its
EuroLeague
home games in
Panathinaikos BC Arena
which is
Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall
.
Honours and titles
[
edit
]
Domestic competitions
[
edit
]
International competitions
[
edit
]
Roster
[
edit
]
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at
FIBA
-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
Maroussi B.C. roster
|
Players
|
Coaches
|
Pos.
|
No.
|
Nat.
|
Name
|
Ht.
|
Wt.
|
Age
|
|
PG
|
5
|
|
Stasinos, Orfeas
(C)
|
1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
|
78 kg (172 lb)
|
24 ?
(
1999-09-05
)
5 September 1999
|
|
C
|
10
|
|
Bogris, Georgios
|
2.10 m (6 ft 11 in)
|
109 kg (240 lb)
|
35 ?
(
1989-02-19
)
19 February 1989
|
|
PF
|
12
|
|
Filippakos, Panagiotis
|
2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)
|
102 kg (225 lb)
|
30 ?
(
1994-04-09
)
9 April 1994
|
|
C
|
13
|
|
Raduljica, Miroslav
|
2.13 m (7 ft 0 in)
|
113 kg (249 lb)
|
36 ?
(
1988-01-05
)
5 January 1988
|
|
G
|
22
|
|
Nikolaidis, Alexandros
|
1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
|
79 kg (174 lb)
|
21 ?
(
2002-08-21
)
21 August 2002
|
|
G/F
|
23
|
|
Iordanou, Christos
|
1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
|
86 kg (190 lb)
|
25 ?
(
1998-11-23
)
23 November 1998
|
|
SF
|
31
|
|
Giannopoulos, Charis
|
2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)
|
95 kg (209 lb)
|
34 ?
(
1989-07-13
)
13 July 1989
|
|
PG
|
|
|
Friðriksson, Elvar Mar
|
1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
|
84 kg (185 lb)
|
29 ?
(
1994-11-11
)
11 November 1994
|
|
SG
|
|
|
Stove, Johnathan
|
1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
|
100 kg (220 lb)
|
28 ?
(
1995-12-23
)
23 December 1995
|
|
PF
|
|
|
Sanogo, Ismael
|
2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
|
95 kg (209 lb)
|
27 ?
(
1996-07-16
)
16 July 1996
|
|
|
- Head coach
- Assistant coach(es)
- Legend
- (C)
Team captain
- Injured
|
Depth chart
[
edit
]
Seasons
[
edit
]
Season
|
Greek League
|
Greek Cup
|
Europe
|
Head Coach
|
Roster
|
1998?99
|
7th place
|
Round of 16
|
_
|
Kostas Petropoulos
|
Andy Toolson
,
Henry Turner
,
Erik Meek
,
Junior Burrough
,
Craig Robinson
,
Jon Korfas
,
Pete Papachronis
,
Alexis Falekas
,
Nikos Kasuridis
,
Sotiris Manolopoulos
,
Vangelis Logothetis
,
Panagiotis Panagiotarakos
,
Spyros Panteliadis
,
Charis Charalampidis
,
Alexis Karatzas
,
Pete Pangas
|
1999?00
|
10th place
|
3rd
|
Kora? Cup
Quarter finals
|
Vangelis Alexandris
|
Ashraf Amaya
,
Henry Turner
,
Jon Korfas
,
Pete Papachronis
,
Vangelis Logothetis
,
Alexis Falekas
,
Anatoly Zourpenko
,
Sotiris Manolopoulos
,
Panagiotis Panagiotarakos
,
Spyros Panteliadis
,
Dimitris Karaplis
,
Kostas Anagnostou
,
Charis Charalampidis
,
Kostantinos Tsevas
|
2000?01
|
7th place
|
Quarter-finals
|
Saporta Cup
Winner
|
Vangelis Alexandris
|
Ashraf Amaya
,
Jimmy Oliver
,
Vangelis Vourtzoumis
,
Vasco Evtimov
,
Alexis Falekas
,
Giorgos Maslarinos
,
Sotiris Nikolaidis
,
Dimitris Karaplis
,
Vangelis Logothetis
,
Sotiris Manolopoulos
,
Dimitris Marmarinos
,
Kostas Anagnostu
,
Charis Charalampidis
,
Panagiotis Stavropoulos
,
Kostantinos Tsevas
|
2001?02
|
7th place
|
Finalist
|
Kora? Cup
Semi finals
|
Nikos Linardos
,
Kostas Petropoulos
|
Ashraf Amaya
,
Jimmy Oliver
,
Pat Burke
,
Michael Koch
,
Vassilis Spanoulis
,
Angelos Koronios
,
Marty Conlon
,
Dickey Simpkins
,
Alexis Falekas
,
Sotiris Manolopoulos
,
Dimitris Marmarinos
,
Giorgos Maslarinos
,
Sotiris Nikolaidis
,
Kostas Anagnostou
,
Stavros Daniil
,
Giorgos Pavlidis
,
Kostantinos Tsevas
,
Giorgos Tsiakos
|
2002?03
|
6th place
|
Round of 16
|
FIBA Europe Champions Cup
Round of 64
|
Panagiotis Giannakis
|
Jimmy Oliver
,
Kenyon Jones
,
Norman Nolan
,
Vassilis Spanoulis
,
Angelos Koronios
,
Giorgos Maslarinos
,
Samo Grum
,
Sotiris Manolopoulos
,
Dimitris Marmarinos
,
Giorgos Tsiakos
,
Nikos Liakopoulos
,
Stavros Daniil
,
Bill Phillips
,
Panagiotis Stavropoulos
|
2003?04
|
Finalist
|
Round of 16
|
FIBA Europe League
Finalist
|
Panagiotis Giannakis
|
Andre Hutson
,
Roderick Blakney
,
Vassilis Spanoulis
,
Giorgos Karagkoutis
,
Ivan Grgat
,
Oliver Popovi?
,
Aleksandar Smiljani?
,
Lazaros Agadakos
,
Makis Nikolaidis
,
Giorgos Tsiakos
,
Stavros Daniil
,
Kostas Gagaudakis
,
Dimitris Lolas
,
Nikos Moutoupas
,
Angelos Siamandouras
,
Dimitris Giannakis
|
2004?05
|
4th place
|
Quarter-finals
|
ULEB Cup
Quarter finals
|
Panagiotis Giannakis
|
Vassilis Spanoulis
,
Roderick Blakney
,
Blagota Sekuli?
,
Larry Stewart
,
Giorgos Karagkoutis
,
Nikos Boudouris
,
Kenyon Jones
,
Oliver Popovi?
,
Aleksandar Smiljanic
,
Kostas Kaimakoglou
,
Markos Kolokas
,
Christoforos Stefanidis
,
Dimitris Lolas
,
Petros Noeas
|
2005?06
|
4th place
|
Finalist
|
FIBA EuroCup
Quarter Finals
|
Panagiotis Giannakis
|
Roderick Blakney
,
Alexis Kiritsis
,
Blagota Sekuli?
,
Jared Homan
,
Giorgos Karagkoutis
,
Nikos Boudouris
,
Kostas Kaimakoglou
,
Markos Kolokas
,
Dimitris Lolas
,
Sotiris Nikolaidis
,
Petros Noeas
,
Christoforos Stefanidis
,
Dimitris Despos
,
Vassilis Giannoulakos
|
2006?07
|
8th place
|
Semi-finals
|
FIBA EuroCup
Second Round
|
Darko Russo
|
Alexis Kiritsis
,
Renaldas Seibutis
,
Danya Abrams
,
Chris Thomas
,
Kostas Charalampidis
,
Ermin Jazvin
,
Vassilis Giannoulakos
,
Kostas Kaimakoglou
,
Markos Kolokas
,
Petros Noeas
,
Philippos Simeonidis
,
Christoforos Stefanidis
,
Giorgos Karagkoutis
,
Mark Dickel
,
Alexandros Melniks
,
Dimitris Lolas
,
Theodoros Tsiotras
|
2007?08
|
4th place
|
Round of 16
|
FIBA EuroCup
Elimination Round 2
|
Soulis Markopoulos
|
Branko Milisavljevi?
,
Jarod Stevenson
,
Kostas Charalampidis
,
Kostas Kaimakoglou
,
Donell Taylor
,
Jason Parker
,
Nikos Boudouris
,
Andreas Glyniadakis
,
Bojan Baki?
,
Ermin Jazvin
,
Feliks Kojadinovi?
,
Dimitris Mavroeidis
,
Christoforos Stefanidis
,
Petros Noeas
,
Travon Bryant
,
Nondas Papantoniou
,
Michalis Paragyios
,
Stavros Toutziarakis
|
2008?09
|
3rd place
|
Semi-finals
|
Eurocup Basketball
Last 16
|
Soulis Markopoulos
|
Billy Keys
,
Jarod Stevenson
,
Giorgos Diamantopoulos
,
Loukas Mavrokefalidis
,
Andreas Glyniadakis
,
Pat Calathes
,
Kostas Charalampidis
,
Dimitris Mavroeidis
,
Fanis Koumpouras
,
Christoforos Stefanidis
,
Stavros Toutziarakis
,
Nondas Papantoniou
,
Shawn Huff
,
Petros Noeas
,
Kostas Kaimakoglou
|
2009?10
|
3rd place
|
Quarter-finals
|
Euroleague
Top 16
|
Georgios Bartzokas
|
Billy Keys
,
Jared Homan
,
Giorgos Diamantopoulos
,
Stephen Arigbabu
,
Levon Kendall
,
Pat Calathes
,
Jamon Gordon
,
Dimitris Mavroeidis
,
Fanis Koumpouras
,
Konstaninos Papantonakos
,
Michalis Pelekanos
,
Marios Batis
, Stefanos Moreau
Christos Lakkas
,
Kostas Kaimakoglou
,
Stevan Nađfeji
,
Igor Milo?evi?
|
2010?11
|
5th place
|
Withdrew
|
Euroleague
Revoked
|
Vangelis Alexandris
|
Dimitris Charitopoulos
,
Ioannis Gagaloudis
,
Eugene Akepsimaidis
,
Feliks Kojadinovi?
,
David Huertas
,
Dalibor Bagari?
,
Petros Noeas
,
Nestoras Kommatos
,
Angelos Siamandouras
,
Denis Clemente
,
Aleksandar Boji?
,
Giannis Vavatsikos
,
Tony Weeden
,
Eddie Basden
,
Lazaros Seferidis
,
Lampros Tsontzos
,
Curtis Sumpter
,
Lance Allred
,
Dimitris Agravanis
|
2011?12
|
13th place
(
relegated
to
B League
)
|
Quarter-finals
|
|
Nikos Linardos
|
Lefteris Akepsemaidis
,
Ioannis Demertzis
,
Makis Nikolaidis
,
Lampros Tsontzos
,
Vangelis Sakellariou
,
Ioannis Gagaloudis
,
Nestoras Kommatos
,
Dimitris Agravanis
,
Phil Kalogiannidis
,
Frank Elegar
,
Dimitris Charitopoulos
,
Serafinos Mantalvanos
,
Feliks Kojadinovi?
,
Andreas Kanonidis
,
George Theodosiou
,
Stefanos Fazianos
,
Giannis Yiannis
,
Dimitrios Kalogeropoulous
,
Savo đikanovi?
,
Adam McCoy
|
Notable players
[
edit
]
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at
FIBA
-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
Criteria
|
To appear in this section a player must have either:
- Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
- Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
- Played at least one official
NBA
match at any time.
|
Greece:
Europe:
USA:
Rest of Americas:
Oceania:
Maroussi players that played in the NBA
[
edit
]
Head coaches
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Maroussi"
EuroLeague
, 28 March 2007. Retrieved on 27 April 2015.
- ^
a
b
"2008-09 Club Profile: Maroussi Costa Coffee."
EuroCup
, 1 September 2008. Retrieved on 27 April 2015.
- ^
Georgakopoulos, George.
"Small club’s meteoric rise to glory."
Archived
2011-12-01 at the
Wayback Machine
Athens Plus
, 12 February 2010. Retrieved on 27 April 2015.
- ^
"Euroleague 2009-10 Club Profile ? Maroussi BC."
EuroLeague
. Retrieved on 27 April 2015.
- ^
Georgakopoulos, George.
"Empty pockets, empty stands."
Archived
2015-05-18 at the
Wayback Machine
Athens Plus
, 24 September 2010. Retrieved on 27 April 2015.
- ^
Georgakopoulos, George.
"Maroussi in danger of missing out on A1 league."
Archived
2015-06-28 at the
Wayback Machine
Athens Plus
, 8 October 2010. Retrieved on 27 April 2015.
- ^
"Maroussi's licence to play Qualifying Rounds revoked."
EuroLeague
, 16 September 2010. Retrieved on 27 April 2015.
- ^
Mammides, Chris.
"Eurobasket News Report ? Greece ? Transfer News."
Eurobasket.com
, 13 October 2010. Retrieved on 27 April 2015.
- ^
"Arbitral award (BAT 0134/10) - Mr. Jared Homan vs. Maroussi B.C."
Basketball Arbitral Tribunal
, Geneva, 9 May 2011. Retrieved on 27 April 2015.
- ^
"Greek basketball league crumbling amid country's financial crisis."
Sports Illustrated
, Athens, 12 April 2012. Retrieved on 27 April 2015.
- ^
Maguire, Ken.
"Victory at last: Maroussi wins 58-52."
Archived
2013-05-29 at the
Wayback Machine
KingsofMaroussi.com
, Marousi, 3 March 2012. Retrieved on 27 April 2015.
External links
[
edit
]