Wikipedia

Panionios B.C.

Main article: Panionios G.S.S.

Panionios B.C. (Greek: Πανιώνιος KAE), known in European competitions as Panionios Athens[1] is the Greek professional basketball club that is based in Nea Smyrni, and that plays its home games in Palaio Faliro, Greece. The club is also widely known as Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, or Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis, which is the Pan-Ionian Gymnastic Club of Smyrna. This is usually abbreviated to the club name of Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ. Panionios B.C. is the basketball department of the Panionios Gymnastic Club that is based in Nea Smyrni.

Panionios BC
Panionios BC logo
NicknameHistoric
Blue–Reds
Panthers
LeaguesGreek Basket League
Greek Cup
Founded1919
HistoryPanionios G.S.S.
(1919–present)
ArenaGlyfada Makis Liougas Sportshall
Capacity3,232
LocationGlyfada, Greece
Team colorsRed and Blue
   
PresidentThodoris Mikropoulos, Panagiotis Iliadis
Team managerFanis Christodoulou
Head coachAris Lykogiannis
ChampionshipsGreek Cup (1)
Retired numbers8, 4
Websitepgssbc.gr

Panionios B.C. has been a long-time club of the top-tier level Greek Basket League, which is considered one of the best national domestic basketball leagues in Europe. Panionios B.C. has also competed in the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague. For sponsorship reasons, the club has also been known as Panionios On Telecoms and Panionios Forthnet, as well as several other sponsorship names.

Some of the well-known players that have played with the club over the years have included: Faidon Matthaiou, Takis Koroneos, Makis Dendrinos, Dimitris Fosses, Kostas Missas, Fanis Christodoulou, Giannis Giannoulis, Boban Janković, P. J. Brown, Panagiotis Giannakis, Henry Turner, Thurl Bailey, Travis Mays, Žarko Paspalj, Byron Dinkins, Mitchell Wiggins, Theo Papaloukas, Jure Zdovc, Laurent Sciarra, Nikos Chatzis, Georgios Sigalas, Angelos Koronios, Dimos Dikoudis, Nikos Oikonomou, Georgios Diamantopoulos, Stratos Perperoglou, Michalis Pelekanos, Ender Arslan, Miloš Vujanić, Alex Stepheson, Errick McCollum, and Tyrese Rice, among others.

Logos

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History

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Early years

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The basketball clubs' parent athletic union, the Panionios Gymnastic Club, was founded in 1890, in İzmir, Ottoman Empire (located today in the modern country of Turkey), making it one of the oldest sporting clubs in Europe. The sporting clubs' basketball department was founded in 1919. After the Greek military suffered defeat in the Greco-Turkish War in 1922, the club was transferred to the Athenian suburb of Nea Smyrni, in Greece.

The basketball department, Panionios B.C., began participation in the Greek Basket League starting in the 1928–29 season, and finished in second place in the league that year. Panionios B.C. finished in third place in the league the next year.

Rise of the club to prominence in Greek basketball

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Panionios B.C. competed in the top-tier Greek basketball league, in consecutive years, from the 1981–82 season until the 2014–15 season. In the 1986–87 season, Panionios played in the championship finals series of the Greek League, losing out to Aris, and their two Greek basketball legends Nikos Galis and Panagiotis Giannakis (Giannakis would later go on to play for Panionios). In 1991, led by Fanis Christodoulou, the team won the Greek Cup title, by defeating PAOK by a score of 73–70. Panionios also played in the finals game of the Greek Cup in both 1977 and 1995. Ιn the 1993–94 season, after an exciting run in the European 3rd-tier level FIBA Korać Cup, and after scoring a couple of wins against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the quarterfinals, Panionios reached the semifinals, and played against PAOK Bravo. This marked the first civil conflict between Greek basketball clubs in European-wide competitions, ever.

The club finished in 3rd place in the Greek League in the 1995–96 season, under their head coach at the time, Dušan Ivković, and thus qualified to the EuroLeague for the 1996–97 season. In the FIBA EuroLeague 1996–97 season, the team was coached by Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou. Two years later, in 1999, Panionios once again reached the semifinals of the FIBA Korać Cup, where they were again eliminated, this time from the super favorites of the tournament, FC Barcelona, which featured Sasha Djordjević.

In the Greek League 2007–08 season, under the ownership of Elias Lianos, the founder of Proton Bank, Panionios, led by Ivan Zoroski, Giannis Kalampokis, and charismatic head coach Nenad Marković, finished in 3rd place in the Greek League. They came back from an 0–2 series deficit in the deciding best-of-five league third-place series against Maroussi, and won the series 3–2. That secured the team a place in the EuroLeague competition for the EuroLeague 2008–09 season. This marked the club's first EuroLeague appearance in more than a decade.[2]

Decline of the club

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After the 2014–15 season, Panionios was relegated to the Greek 2nd Division, after 33 consecutive seasons with a presence in the top-tier level Greek Basket League.[3] For the 2015–16 season, Panionios preferred to play in the third-tier of Greece, the semi-pro level Greek B Basket League, due to financial difficulties.[4] They were promoted up to the Greek 2nd Division for the 2016–17 season.

They won the Greek 2nd Division title of the 2016–17 season, and were promoted back up to the top-tier level league, for the 2017–18 season. Due to financial difficulties, Panionios was demoted down to the Greek 3rd Division, prior to the 2020–21 season.

Panionios in international competitions

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Main article: Panionios B.C. in international competitions

Arenas

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Helliniko Olympic Arena

Panionios played its domestic Greek League home games at "Artakis" Nea Smyrni Indoor Hall, a now demolished 1,832-seat arena that was owned by the Nea Smyrni municipality. They used the arena from its opening in 1979 to 2006, and from 2009 to its close in 2019.[5] From 2006 to 2009, the club used the Helliniko Olympic Arena, which was built for the 2004 Summer Olympics, and has a capacity of 15,000, as its home arena.[6] At various times, the club has also used the National Athletic Center Glyfada Makis Liougas, which has a capacity of 3,232.[7]

In 2019, the club moved into the Sofia Befon Palaio Faliro Indoor Hall for the 2019–20 season.[8][9][10] The arena seats 1,204 people.[11] It was opened in 2017.

The municipality of Nea Smyrni has begun the construction of a new modern-style multi-use indoor arena, called the Boban Janković Indoor Hall, named after Boban Janković, which is being built on the same location as the old Nea Smyrni Indoor Hall. The new arena was scheduled to open for the 2022–23 season but after many delays the stadium is still unfinished. The club will play at a smaller arena in Nea Smyrni neighborhood, Andreas Varikas Indoor Hall, until its new arena is completed.

Retired numbers

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[12]

Panionios B.C. retired numbers
N° Nat. Player Position Tenure
4   Fanis Christodoulou SF/PF 1983–1997
8   Boban Janković SF 1992–1993

Roster

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Current roster

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Panionios roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age
G 0   Smith, Kendall 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 29 – (1995-09-18)18 September 1995
G 1   Woolridge, Ryan 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 28 – (1996-11-16)16 November 1996
G 3     Milentigievits, Iakovos 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 27 – (1997-01-11)11 January 1997
F/C 7   Tsalmpouris, Georgios 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in) 109 kg (240 lb) 28 – (1996-06-22)22 June 1996
PF 12     Chougkaz, Robert 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 24 – (2000-10-04)4 October 2000
C 14   Kaklamanakis, Dimitris 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 30 – (1994-01-25)25 January 1994
F/C 15   Davis, Devin 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 29 – (1995-05-29)29 May 1995
SF 19   Saloustros, Christos 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 34 – (1990-03-29)29 March 1990
G/F 25   Brown, Rion 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 33 – (1991-09-03)3 September 1991
PG 30   Cannady, Devin 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 83 kg (183 lb) 28 – (1996-05-21)21 May 1996
C 35   Nnoko, Landry 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 113 kg (249 lb) 30 – (1994-04-09)9 April 1994
G/F 55   Dimitrakopoulos, Iasonas 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 24 – (2000-06-11)11 June 2000
PG 88   Gikas, Nikos (C) 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 81 kg (179 lb) 34 – (1990-11-22)22 November 1990
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Athletic trainer(s)
  •   Stratos Tsampis
Team Manager
  •   Giannis Dalles
Team Captain
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  •   Injured
Updated: 6 October 2024

Depth chart

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Bench 3
C Landry Nnoko Dimitris Kaklamanakis
PF Devin Davis Georgios Tsalmpouris Robert Chougkaz
SF Rion Brown Christos Saloustros Iasonas Dimitrakopoulos
SG Kendall Smith Ryan Woolridge Iakovos Milentigievits
PG Devin Cannady Nikos Gkikas

Honours and titles

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Domestic competitions

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Runners-up (1): 1986–87
Winners (1): 1990–91
Runners-up (2): 1976–77, 1994–95
Winners (3): 1973–74, 1980–81, 2016–17
Runners-up (1): 2023-24
Winners (1): 2015–16
Winners (2): 2022–23, 2023–24

European competitions

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Semifinalist (2): 1993–94, 1998–99

Other competitions

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  • Athens, Greece Tournament
Winners (1): 2011

International record

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Main article: Panionios B.C. in international competitions
Season Achievement Notes
Saporta Cup
2001–02 Quarter-finals eliminated by Anwil Włocławek, 83–74 (W) in Athens and 59–75 (L) in Włocławek
Korać Cup
1989–90 Quarter-finals eliminated by CSKA Moscow, 107–85 (W) in Athens and 53–106 (L) in Moscow
1992–93 Quarter-finals eliminated by Philips Milano, 78–79 (L) in Athens and 74–81 (L) in Milan
1993–94 Semi-finals eliminated by PAOK Bravo, 83–85 (L) in Athens and 64–82 (L) in Thessaloniki
1994–95 Quarter-finals eliminated by Stefanel Milano, 59–73 (L) in Milan and 82–73 (L) in Athens
1998–99 Semi-finals eliminated by FC Barcelona, 71–80 (L) in Athens and 61–91 (L) in Barcelona
EuroChallenge
2006–07 Quarter-finals eliminated 2-1 by Akasvayu Girona, 68–76 (L) in Girona, 82–73 (W) in Athens and 49–83 (L) in Girona

Season by season results

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Season Tier League Pos. W–L Greek Cup European competitions
2005–06
1
 Basket League
8th
 Round of 16
2006–07
1
 Basket League
4th
 Round of 16 3 FIBA EuroCup
QF
8–7
2007–08
1
 Basket League 3rd Quarterfinals 2 ULEB Cup
L32
6–6
2008–09
1
 Basket League
6th
 Semifinals 1 Euroleague
RS
3–7
2009–10
1
 Basket League
8th
 Quarterfinals
2010–11
1
 Basket League
9th
 Round of 16
2011–12
1
 Basket League 3rd Round of 16
2012–13
1
 Basket League 3rd Quarterfinalist 2 Eurocup
RS
2–4
2013–14
1
 Basket League
4th
 Semifinalist 2 Eurocup
L32
6–10
2014–15
1
 Basket League
14th
 Quarterfinalist
2015–16
3
 B Basket League 1st
2016–17
2
 A2 Basket League 1st
26–4
2017–18
1
 Basket League 12th
7–19
2018–19
1
 Basket League 10th
8–18
2019–20
1
 Basket League 12th
6–14

Notable players

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities 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:

Africa:

Oceania:

Head coaches

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Head Coach Years
  Michalis Kyritsis
1982–1983, 1987–1988
  Makis Dendrinos
1983–1987, 1997–1998
    Vlade Đurović
1988–1993
  Kostas Missas
1993–1994, 2002
  Dušan Ivković
1994–1996
  Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou
1996–1997
    Lefteris Subotić
2000–2001
  Panagiotis Giannakis
2001–2002
  Georgios Kalafatakis
2002–2004, 2017
  Memos Ioannou
2004–2006
  Nikos Linardos
2006
  Luka Pavićević
2006–2007
  Minas Gekos
2007
  Nenad Marković
2007–2008, 2009–2010
  Alex Trifunović
2008–2009
  Georgios Bartzokas
2010–2012
  Thanasis Skourtopoulos
2012
  Ioannis Sfairopoulos
2012–2014
  Vangelis Alexandris
2014–2015
  Chris Chougaz
2015, 2018
  Vangelis Ziagkos
2015–2016, 2017–2018
  Nikos Oikonomou
2016–2017, 2018–2019
  Vassilis Fragkias
2018–2019
  Ioannis Livanos
2019
  Linos Gavriel
2019–2020

Top players in games played and points scored in the Greek Basket League (since the 1992–93 season)

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Panionios team leaders in games played and points scored, since the Greek Basket League became fully professional, starting with the 1992–93 season.

Rank Player Games Played
1.   Marios Batis 174
Rank Player Points Scored
1.   Georgios Diamantopoulos 2,676

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Panionios Athens - Welcome to 7DAYS EuroCup". www.eurocupbasketball.com. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Team Focus: Panionios On Telecoms". Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  3. ^ "Έμεινε εκτός Α1 ο Πανιώνιος". star.gr. Retrieved 19 September 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Στην Α2 το Περιστέρι, στη Β' ο Πανιώνιος". sport-fm.gr. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  5. ^ Κλειστό της Οδού Αρτάκης: Κάτι παραπάνω από ένα γήπεδο (in Greek).
  6. ^ "World Stadiums - Stadiums in Greece". www.worldstadiums.com. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Competition Engine - Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL". www.euroleague.net. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  8. ^ Το κλειστό γήπεδο "Σοφία Μπεφόν" στο Π. Φάληρο θα είναι η νέα έδρα του Πανιωνίου (in Greek).
  9. ^ Video από τα εγκαίνια του Κλειστού Γυμναστηρίου ΣΟΦΙΑ ΜΠΕΦΟΝ (long version) (in Greek).
  10. ^ Τα εισιτήρια του Πανιώνιου για τον πρώτο αγώνα στο κλειστό Π.Φαλήρου “Σοφία Μπεφόν” (pic) (in Greek).
  11. ^ Αυτό είναι το νέο Κλειστό Γήπεδο του Παλαιού Φαλήρου (in Greek).
  12. ^ "Οι αριθμοί στις φανέλες των παικτών του Πανιώνιου". Retrieved 21 September 2018.
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