Panionios B.C.

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, Athens, and that plays its home games in Palaio Faliro, Athens, 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, Athens.

Main article: Panionios G.S.S.
Panionios
NicknameHistoric
Blue–Reds
Panthers
LeaguesGreek Basket League
Greek Cup
Founded1919
History
ArenaSofia Befon Indoor Hall
Capacity1,204
LocationPalaio Faliro, Athens, Greece
Team colorsRed and Blue
         
PresidentGiorgos Christodoulopoulos
Head coachLinos Gavriil
OwnershipGiorgos Christodoulopoulos
2018–19 positionGreek Basket League, 10th of 14
Championships1 Greek Cup
Websitepanioniosbc.gr
Departments of
Panionios G.S.S.
Football Basketball Basketball
(women's)
Volleyball Waterpolo Handball
Athletics Gymnastics Swimming
Cycling Judo Chess

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. Recent previous owners of the club were Elias Lianos, the founder of Proton Bank, Antonis Margetis, and Ion G. Varouxakis.

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, 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
  • (The official logo of Panionios' parent club.)
  • (The official logo of Panionios' basketball club.)

History

Early years

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

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 Elite 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, 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

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 for the 2016–17 season, and were promoted back up to the top-tier level league.

Panionios in international competitions
Main article: Panionios B.C. in international competitions

Arenas
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 3,500.[7]

In 2019, the club moved into the Sofia Befon Palaio Faliro Indoor Hall.[8][9][10] The arena seats 1,204 people,[11] which can be increased to 2,000 people with optional retractable seats in the lower tier. 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 will be built on the same location as the old Artaki Nea Smyrni Indoor Hall. The new arena is scheduled to be open for the 2021–22 season. The club will play at the Sofia Belfon Indoor Hall until its new arena is completed.

Roster

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

Panionios B.C. roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
Head coach
  • Vacant
Assistant coach(es)
Team Manager
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured
Updated: August 3, 2020

Depth chart
Pos. Starting 5 Bench
C
PF
SF
SG
PG

Retired numbers

[12]

Panionios B.C. retired numbers
N° Nat. Player Position Tenure Date Retired
4Fanis ChristodoulouSF/PF1983–1997
8Boban JankovićSF1992–1993

Honours

Total titles: 5

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

European competitions
Semifinalist (2): 1993–94, 1998–99

Other competitions
  • Athens, Greece Tournament
Winners (1): 2011

International record
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
Season Tier Division 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

Notable players

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

Head coaches
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

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

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

  • * Still active player with the team.
  • Last update: 5 February 2019
Rank Player Games Played
1. Marios Batis 174
Rank Player Points Scored
1. Georgios Diamantopoulos 2,676
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See also

References
  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.
  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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