Greece national basketball team

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Greece

FIBA ranking

6^th

Joined FIBA

1932

FIBA zone

FIBA Europe

Coach

Panagiotis Giannakis

Nickname(s)

Επίσημη Αγαπημένη (Official Cherished)

Olympic Games

Appearances

Medals

None

World Championships

Appearances

Medals

Silver: 2006

Eurobasket

Appearances

Medals

Gold: 1987, 2005

Silver: 1989
Bronze: 1949

Uniforms

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Home

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The Greece national basketball team for men is the basketball side that represents Greece in international competitions. Greece is generally considered an important power in international basketball and the national team is regarded as one of the best in the world, having won the European Championships twice, the Youth World Championship in 1995 and reached the final four in three of the last four FIBA World Championships (1994, 1998, 2006). The national team is organized and run by the Hellenic Basketball Federation. Basketball became extremely popular in Greece after the achıevements of the Greek National Team ın 1987 (when the team won the gold medal in the European Championship Games (Eurobasket).

1 History
2 Participation in FIBA competitions
3 Current squad
4 Noted past players
5 External links

[edit] History

Basketball in Greece has a very long history and tradition (Greece was one of the eight founding members of FIBA in 1932), but only came into prominence in the mid-eighties. Since 1986, the national team has a constant presence in international tournaments and the U21, U19 and youth squads have also won a host of medals in European and world competitions.

[edit] 1949-1952: International debut

Greece's first appearance in international competition came at Eurobasket 1949 in Cairo, Egypt. The Greeks were quite successful in their first appearance, winning the bronze medal after a 4-2 finish in the seven-team round robin tournament. The losses came against Egypt and France.

The Greeks returned for Eurobasket 1951 in Paris. They placed second in their preliminary group with a 2-1 record and advanced to the semifinal round. There, they faced powerhouses Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia as well as a strong Italy team, losing all three contests. Further losses to Turkey and Belgium in classification matches put Greece in 8th place in the 18-team field.

Greece also made its first Olympic Games appearance in 1952, but only managed to reach 17th position.

[edit] '60s and 70s: Decades of obscurity

During the next couple of decades, the Greece national basketball team appeared sporadically in Eurobasket competitions, with moderate success. Nevertheless, it never managed to qualify for the Olympic Games, or the World Championships. This all changed in the mid-eighties, when a very talented nucleus of Greek players propelled the national team to success, at the same time paving the way for a basketball renaissance in Greece.

The first sign of things to come was when Greece qualified for the first time for the FIBA World Championships in 1986. Greece placed 10th, a considerable achievement for an inexperienced team.

[edit] Eurobasket 1987

In 1987 Greece was the Eurobasket host, which combined with the success in last year's world championship, increased expectations for a positive showing. But nobody expected what was to follow.

That competition (commonly called Eurobasket 1987) was the 25th regional championship held by FIBA Europe. Twelve national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) entered the competition. Athens was the location of the event.

Greece managed to win the tournament despite all predictions, at a heart breaking final against the USSR. The Greek squad comprised of Panagiotis Giannakis, Panagiotis Fasoulas, Fanis Christodoulou, Nikos Stavropoulos, Argiris Kambouris, Nikos Linardos, Panagiotis Karatzas, Michalis Romanidis, Nikos Filippou, Liveris Andritsos, Memos Ioannou and MVP of the tournament Nick Galis, and was coached by Kostas Politis.

Greece’s triumph was a defining moment for the sport in the country. The national team's two point victory (103-101) over the Soviets in the final made basketball the national team-sport overnight.

The points in the games were scored by Nick Galis 296p (averaging 37 per game - top scorer of the tournament and MVP), Panagiotis Giannakis 101, Panagiotis Fasoulas 98, Fanis Christodoulou 70, Argiris Kambouris 53, Liveris Andritsos 24, Mixalis Romanidis 18, Memos Ioannou 16, Nikos Phillipou 16, Linardos 4, Karatzas 2, Stavropoulos 1.

The next year, Greece was poised for its first Olympics appearance in 36 years, but it was not to be. Disappointing performances saw the team bow out in pre-olympic competition. But soon there was proof that the Greek national team was not just a shooting star. This was immediately evident during the very next European championship (Eurobasket 1989) when Greece again reached the final, proving that the team was neither a one hit wonder, nor was its success due to the home court advantage of two years prior. Greece beat the Soviet Union in the semifinal, before bowing to a superior Yugoslavian team in the final.

1987 Greek National Basketball Team

[edit] 1990-1998: Sustained success but no medals

For the next decade, there was a series of successful results in international meetings, both for the national team and at club level. Greece was present in all major international competitions (save for the Olympics in 1992), meeting with considerable success, never falling below 6th place (and usually ending up 4th). At the same time, it was a period of considerable frustration, since the team never seemed to be able to get past the semi-finals or grab a medal even for 3rd place.

In 1990, in Argentina's World Championships, the team would face a new challenge. For the first time in a decade, it would have to compete without its natural leader and leading scorer, Nikos Galis, who was injured. Nevertheless, thanks to a mixture of old guard and new generation players, Greece managed to defy the odds and placed 6th, despite the strong competition.

In Eurobasket 1991 Greece placed 5th, and for the next 3 competitions (1993, 1995, 1997) it reached the semi-final but ultimately ended up 4th.

In 1994 FIBA World Championships the team reached the semis, but was eliminated by Dream Team II and was beaten in the third place game by Croatia 78-60. Despite the bitter ending, the 4th place was considered a success of equal standard as the european golden medal in 1987, which proved the continued prominence of the team.

In 1998 the World Championships where hosted by Greece and as hosts the Greeks were very close to qualifying for the final. They were just beaten in the semi-final by Yugoslavia in extra time. The disappointment of missing the chance to reach the finals and a certain medal caused an easy defeat to the US team in the third place game (84-61), once more leaving Greece with the 4th place and without a medal.

Despite the considerable success of this decade, Greece always failed to qualify for the Olympics for some reason. The elusive dream of a second Olympic appearance was finally realised in 1996, where Greece gained the 5th position. The Greek team was partly composed of older players from the national team of 1987 (Giannakis, Christodoulou, Fasoulas, Patavoukas) and partly of young stars (such as Sigalas, Oikonomou, and Rentzias).

[edit] 1999-2004: Decline and rebirth

After more than a decade of prominence, it was more or less normal for the national team to meet with decline, but this was not well received by the fans, partly because it came suddenly and caught a lot of people by surprise. The team failed in Eurobasket 1999 and 2001, and as a consequence did not qualify for the Sydney Olympics and the 2002 World Championships.

The dire condition of the team did not sit well with the Federation, which also had to consider the representation of the country in the Olympic Games in Athens. The team was overhauled for Eurobasket 2003, with a new coach (Ioannidis) and a new, younger roster. The experiment was partly successful, as Greece placed 5th, but the public was not very enthusiastic, apparently not content with near misses and good placements any more.

The next year, the team took part at the 2004 Olympic tournament as host, since the Games were held in Athens. In the first round, Greece finished their group games in second place, with three victories and two losses behind Lithuania and qualified for the quarter finals, where they were defeated 64-69 by eventual golden medalists Argentina. Despite the Greek hopes for a medal, the team only managed a 5th position, like the year before and the 1996 Olympics. They beat Puerto Rico 85-75 in the 5-6th place match.

[edit] Eurobasket 2005

During Eurobasket 2005, Greece advanced from the group phase in second place, with two victories and one defeat, and then beat Israel 67-61 in an elimination game to reach the quarter-finals. There they faced Russia, beating them 66-61. In the semifinals, Greece beat France 67-66 in a dramatic fashion. France led by 7 with 1 minute to go, but Greece managed to come back and win the game with a last second three-pointer by Dimitris Diamantidis from the top of the key. In the Final, Greece beat Germany 78-62, and were crowned European Champions for the second time.

Greece wins 2005 Eurobasket

[edit] 2006 FIBA World Championship

Greece begun play in arguably the toughest group, group C. Nevertheless, with five close wins, they advanced undefeated from the group phase in first place, and then beat China 95-64 in an elimination game to reach the quarter-finals. There they faced France, beating them 73-56. In the semifinals, Greece faced the United States, which was considered the undisputed favorite to win gold. In the greatest upset of the tournament, the Greek team defeated the United States 101-95 rallying back from 12 points down. In the Final, Greece uncharacteristically underperformed and lost in a landslide to Spain, ending up with the silver medal. Despite losing, the players were greeted as heros by celebrating fans on their return to Greece.

[edit] Participation in FIBA competitions

[edit] Olympic Games

1952 - 17th
1996 - 5th
2000 - did not qualify
2004 - 5th

[edit] FIBA World Championships

1986 - 10th
1990 - 6th
1994 - 4th
1998 - 4th
2002- did not qualify
2006 - Runner up

[edit] European Championships

1949 - Third place
1951 - 8th
1953 - did not qualify
1955 - did not qualify
1957 - did not qualify
1959 - did not qualify
1961 - 17th
1963 - did not qualify
1965 - 8th
1967 - 12th
1969 - 10th
1971 - did not qualify
1973 - 11th
1975 - 12th
1977 - did not qualify
1979 - 9th
1981 - 9th
1983 - 11th
1985 - did not qualify
1987 - European Champion
1989 - Runner up
1991 - 5th
1993 - 4th
1995 - 4th
1997 - 4th
1999 - 16th
2001 - 9th
2003 - 5th
2005 - European Champion
2007 - directly qualified

[edit] Current squad

2006 World Championships roster

Coach: Panagiotis Giannakis

No	Player	Height	Position	DOB	Current Club
4	Theodoros Papaloukas	2.00	Guard	8 May 1977	CSKA Moscow
5	Sofoklis Schortsanitis	2.06	Center	2 Jun 1985	Olympiacos
6	Nikos Zisis	1.97	Guard	16 Aug 1983	Benetton Treviso
7	Vassilis Spanoulis	1.92	Guard	7 Aug 1982	Houston Rockets
8	Panagiotis Vasilopoulos	2.03	Forward	8 Feb 1984	Olympiacos
9	Antonis Fotsis	2.08	Forward	1 Apr 1981	Dynamo Moscow
10	Nikos Hatzivrettas	1.96	Guard	26 May 1977	Panathinaikos
11	Dimosthenis Dikoudis	2.06	Forward	24 Jun 1977	Panathinaikos
12	Kostas Tsartsaris	2.09	Forward	17 Oct 1979	Panathinaikos
13	Dimitris Diamantidis	1.98	Guard	6 May 1980	Panathinaikos
14	Lazaros Papadopoulos	2.10	Center	3 Jun 1980	Dynamo Moscow
15	Michalis Kakiouzis*	2.07	Forward	29 Nov 1976	Barcelona