Olympiacos BC
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
|
||
| Club Name | Olympiacos Piraeus Basketball Club | |
| Image |  |
|
| Founded | 1925 | |
| Nickname | Thrylos (Legend) | |
| Arena | Peace and Friendship Stadium, Faliro, Piraeus, Greece. |
|
| Capacity | 15,000 | |
| Chairman |  Socrates Kokkalis |
|
| Manager |  Pinhas Gershon |
|
| League | A1 Greek Basketball League | |
| Position 2005-06 | 2nd | |
| Website | Olympiacos Official Website | |
Olympiacos BC is a Greek basketball team. A part of the Olympiacos CFP family, the team was founded in 1925, and is one of the oldest and most tradition-rich clubs in Europe. Olympiacos is typically a strong contender in both the Greek League and the Euroleague. The team is frequently referred to as the "Chicago Bulls of Europe," due to the fact that the two clubs wear the same colours and had played an exhibition game in 1997, during the Bulls' NBA dynasty and Olympiacos' dominance in Europe.
Contents |
[edit] History
Beginning in the 1930s, it was the first Greek team to familiarize itself with American basketball as Alekos Spanoudakis learned to imitate the jump shot of American sailors and his brother Yannis met basketball legend Bob Cousy and practiced many of his secrets on the court.
The Spanoudakis brothers led the club to its first Greek League title in 1949. The second title didn't come until 11 years later, in 1960, which allowed the Reds for the first time to qualify for the European Championship. But it wasn't until 1976 that Olympiacos would win another Greek title, and it did so in unprecedented fashion, running off 22 victories in 22 games.
Another Greek title followed two years later, and in a decade which also saw Olympiacos add four Greek Cups between 1976 and 1980, the future looked bright.
The rest of the 1980s marked a low period for the Reds. The 1990s was a completely different story.
By 1993, however, the club rebounded, climbing all the way back to rule Greece with five consecutive Championships, not mention several Greek Cups good for trophy doubles. Olympiacos also reached the Euroleague final in 1994 and 1995. It is worth mentioning that in order to advance to the two finals Olympiacos played with archrivals Panathinaikos and won both games. Record holding Greek basketball coach Yannis Ioannidis created a tough, team-oriented, offensive basketball team that hold Greece and the rest of Europe in awe for the better part of the 1990s (4 european final-four, 6 Greek titles), but the team was not able to win the much deserved European title.
In 1996, on the last game from the best-of-five finals against archrivals Panathinaikos (European Champion at the time), Olympiacos won an impressive 73-38 victory, to this day an all-time record victory margin for the Greek League Finals.
In 1997 with a new coach, the great Dusan Ivkovic of Yugoslavia national team at the bench, Olympiacos easily achieved the coveted triple crown: the Greek League title, the Greek Cup and finally the Euroleague crown (by beating Barcelona 73-58 in Rome). Olympiacos is the only Greek team to have achieved this and one of the very few in the history of European Basketball.
Olympiacos fans were quick to sing that "in Rome and in the Final, we lifted the European (Trophy)" and this remains as one of the Club's most popular chants today.
The same year, the club disputed the McDonald's Championship, in Paris, where they played against Chicago Bulls and it was a game between the European Champion and the NBA Champion. Again Olympiacos is the only team in history that played such a match. During that game Olympiacos never used a zone defence, although it was played according to European basketball ruling and was defeated naturally by the team of one of the greatest basketball players ever, Michael Jordan (Olympiacos - Chicago Bulls: 78 - 104).
Although there was a return to the Euroleague Final Four in 1999, a few years went by before the Reds won another trophy. In 2001-2002 the club managed to win the Greek Cup. Then they came within one victory of the Euroleague Final Four and made it to the last game of the Greek League final series.
The Reds were one of the Euroleague's most dangerous teams in 2002-03 as well. The club came closer than any team to knocking off champ Barcelona in a heartbreaking away game, and proved, despite the fact that it was not the much feared team of the 90s, able to beat any team at any time.
The last few seasons concluded without any trophies due to the large budget cuts of the previous years and strong Greek (Panathinaikos) and European (Maccabi, Barcelona, CSKA Moscow) competition, but the ambition remains intact for 2006-07 with the signing of Pinhas Gershon as head coach and NBA star Arvydas Macijauskas the Reds are a threat on any court in Europe. FIBA selected Olympiacos as the Best Team of the 90s in Europe.
[edit] Honours
- Total Titles: 17
-
- Greek Championships: 9
- 1949, 1960, 1976, 1978, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
- Greek Cups: 7
- 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1994, 1997, 2002
- Euroleague: 1
- 1997
- Greek Championships: 9
[edit] International Record
| Season | Achievement | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Champions Cup | |||
| 1992-93 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by Limoges CSP with 1-2 wins, 70-67 in Athens, 53-59 and 58-60 in Limoges | |
| 1993-94 | 2nd / Final Four Tel-Aviv | won Panathinaikos BC 77-72 in semi-final, defeated by Joventut Badalona 57-59 in final | |
| 1994-95 | 2nd / Final Four Zaragoza | won Panathinaikos BC 58-52 in semi-final, defeated by Real Madrid 61-73 in final | |
| 1995-96 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by Real Madrid with 1-2 wins, 68-49 in Athens, 77-80 and 65-80 in Madrid | |
| 1996-97 | Winner / Final Four Rome | won KK Union Olimpija 74-65 in semi-final, won FC Barcelona 73-58 in final | |
| 1998-99 | 3rd / Final Four Munich | defeated by BC Žalgiris 71-87 in semi-final, won Teamsystem Bologna 74-63 in final | |
| Euroleague | |||
| 2001-02 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by TAU Cerámica with 0-2 wins, 72-78 in Athens, 76-98 in Vitoria | |
| 2005-06 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by Maccabi Tel Aviv with 1-2 wins, 78-87 and 73-77 in Tel Aviv, 76-70 in Athens | |
[edit] Current roster
- Guards
- 04
PM James "Scoonie" Penn - 05 PM Manolis Papamakarios (c)
- 06 SG Alex Acker
- 07
SG Arvydas Macijauskas - 10
SG Henry Domercant - 11 PM Christos Charisis
- 17
PM Vrbica Stefanov
- 04
- Forwards
- 12 SF Nikos Barlos
- 13 SF Panayiotis Vasilopoulos
- 14 PF Ryan Stack
- 15 PF Sam Hoskin
- 20
PF Andrija Zizic
- 12
- Centers
- 09 C Yiannis Bourousis
- 15 C Sofoklis Schortsianitis
- 09
- Coach
[edit] The season 2005-2006 for Olympiacos
[edit] The big comeback
The 2005-06 season has seen the return of a Red giant, which has overcome some slow years with a nice combination of young talent and experience which has paid off. Olympiacos completely renewed its roster before the start of the season and not only immediately paid off, but also gave its fans some hope for a bright future. Players like Reinaldas Seibutis, Panagiotis Vasilopoulos, Georgios Printezis and, above all, Sofoklis Schortsianitis may well be a solid core of players for many years to come. Olympiacos survived a difficult regular season and shined in the Top 16, advancing to the Quarterfinal Playoffs. The Reds were just a win away from making it to the Final Four for the first time since 1999. Maccabi Elite won the best-of-three series 2-1, but Game 3 went down to the wire and experienced proved to be a decisive factor in the final 2 minutes, when the hosts managed to seal a 77-73 win and advanced to the Final Four in Prague. Tyus Edney earned February MVP honors, as well as ranking third in assists at the end of the regular season and second in the Top 16. Olympiacos also shined in its domestic competition, as the Reds made it to the Greek League finals for the the first time in five years by surviving a thrilling five-game series against Maroussi. Panathinaikos ended up sweeping the best-of-five final playoff series, but it was clear that the Reds are back where they used to be, becoming a team able to challenge for every title.
Olympiacos was ready for a turnaround season and it showed it right away, beating Maccabi 83-78 at home in Game 2. Quincy Lewis led the Reds with 21 points against his former team, while Edney added 14 for Olympiacos. It happened to be Olympiacos' only win in the opening 4 games, but once the team underwent an adjustment period, things started to roll. Olympiacos beat Prokom Trefl Sopot 70-65 in Game 5 behind 19 points from Nikos Hatzis, and even when the team lost its following game against Cibona, the Reds bounced back in style. Olympiacos got back-to-back home wins to lift its Group B record to 4-4. The Reds thrashed Armani Jeans Milano 89-67 with 16 points from Hatzis, and then beat Winterthur FC Barcelona 80-68 in Game 8. Former Barcelona player Andrija Zizic led Olympiacos that day with 18 points while Edney scored 16 points and dished 9 assists. Olympiacos would only win one of its next four games, getting a 65-63 home win against Lietuvos Rytas in which Nikos Barlos had 14 points. The Reds needed to win its final two regular season games in order to advance to the Top 16. A 99-70 home win against Cibona virtually made Olympiacos advance to the next round. Edney posted a double-double of 24 points and 11 assists to pace the winners. Olympiacos finished fifth in Group B with a 7-7 record by beating Milano 75-84, in which was its first road win of the season. Once again Edney led the way with 17 points and 9 assists.
The Reds have to face a very competitive Top 16 group featuring Spanish powerhouses Unicaja and Winterthur FCB, as well as a classic Euroleague team like Zalgiris Kaunas. Olympiacos showed its power right as the Top 16 started, beating Unicaja 87-84 in Athens. Olympiacos ended Unicaja's 12-game win streak. Edney led the winners again with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. He averaged 19.6 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds while playing 35 minutes per game in three games, enough to be considered Euroleague Basketball's MVP for February. The Reds took another step to advance to the playoffs by beating Zalgiris 78-69 at home. Schortsianitis led the way for Olympiacos with 25 points on 10-for-12 shooting off the bench. Olympiacos registered a 76-72 road loss in Barcelona before travelling to Málaga to face Unicaja in a make-or-break game. The Reds, who stayed in Spain to practice for four days after losing its first Top 16 game, showed its power with a resounding 75-87 road win against Unicaja which almost qualified the team for the Quarterfinal Playoffs. Edney kept shining with 25 points and 7 rebounds. By the time the Reds beat Zalgiris 72-99 in Kaunas in Game 6, Olympiacos was already seonc in Group B and would face Maccabi in the playoffs. Hatzis led Olympiacos in Kaunas with 21 points on 7-for-7 shooting in just 16 minutes.
Maccabi opened the best-of-three playoff series with an 87-78 home win in Game 1. Nikola Vujcic led Maccabi with 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting. Edney had 20 points for Olympiacos while Seibutis and Vasilopoulos each added 13. Lewis and Schortsianitis shined with big dunks with tied the game, 72-72, midway through the final period, but Vujcic and Maceo Baston fueled an 8-2 run which seal the win down the stretch. Olympiacos fired back with a 76-72 home win in Game 2 to tie the series. Schortsianitis led the winners with 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting, Lewis had 14 while Edney and Vasilopoulos each added 10. The game went down to the wire again, as the Reds up 69-66 with 1:20 to play. A critical offensive rebound and a three-point play by Vasilopoulos sealed the outcome with 17 seconds to go. It all came down to a crucial Game 3, in which Maccabi beat Olympiacos 77-73 in Tel Aviv. Will Solomon led the winners with 18 points. Edney had 14 points for Olympiacos, Schortsianitis 13 and Hatzis 12. A three-pointer by Christos Harissis gave the Reds its last lead, 69-71, as Solomon and Vujcic rescued Maccabi with a 7-2 run which gave the hosts a 76-73 edge with 23 seconds to go. Olympiacos needed a triple to tie and got a wide-open look once when Edney drove and kicked the ball out to Manolis Papamakarios, who missed the shot. As such, Maccabi advanced to the final but Olympiacos showed it is ready for a bright future. As soon as its youngster gain more experience, a new era should be starting for the Reds.
[edit] External links
| A1 Greek Basketball League 2006-2007 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
AEK Athens BC | AEL BC | Aris BC | Maroussi BC | Olympiacos BC | Panathinaikos BC | PAOK BC | Panellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos | Panionios | Makedonikos | Olympia Larissas BC | Apollon Patras Achaia Clauss | Aigaleo | Olympiada Patras | |
| Euroleague 2006-07 |
|
Quarterfinalists: CSKA Moscow | Dynamo Moscow | Maccabi Tel Aviv | Olympiacos | Panathinaikos | TAU Cerámica | Unicaja Málaga | Winterthur FCB |
|
International basketball
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||
|
||||
