Basketball in Greece (IV)

Junior national teams:
The Greek junior national team won a gold medal at the 1995 junior men's FIBA Under-19 World Championship. As the tournament's host nation, the Greek junior national team won the gold medal by defeating the junior men's Australia national basketball team by a score of 91-73 in the final. The gold medal winning under-19 team of 1995 included such players as: Michalis Kakiouzis, Nikolaos Hatzis, Giorgos Kalaitzis, Dimitrios Papanikolaou, and Efthimios Rentzias, who was voted the MVP of the tournament.
Mediterranean Games:

Greece has also always taken part in the Mediterranean Games. The greatest success of the men's national team at the Mediterranean Games is the gold medal, which they won in 1979. Furthermore, Greece has won four silver medals at the tournament, in the years 1991, 2001, 2005, and 2009. In addition to that, they have also won three bronze medals at the tournament, in the years 1955, 1971, and 1987.
The Greek women's national team won the bronze medal at the competition in 1991.
Arenas:

The first professional indoor basketball arena in the country was opened in 1959 in Athens. Located at the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, it holds 1,500 spectators and is still home to the ladies' basketball department of Panathinaikos. Because of its confined environment, the sports hall was named The Tomb of The Indian, after the Fritz Lang feature film The Indian Tomb. In the subsequent years, a number of other arenas have arisen in Greece, located mainly in Athens and Thessaloniki. In 1966, in Thessaloniki, the Alexandrio Melathron was opened. This 5,500 seat arena was for decades home to the two arch-rivals Aris and PAOK.
The Peace and Friendship Stadium (SEF), a 17,000 capacity multi-purpose hall opened in Piraeus, Athens in 1985. The arena was for the next ten years, the biggest indoor sports hall in Greece and it hosted events such as the EuroBasket 1987, the 1994 World Volleyball Championship, the 1995 European Volleyball Championship, the 1998 FIBA World Championship, and the 1999 Olympic Weightlifting World Championship. SEF is the home of the Olympiacos Piraeus basketball club.
By the early 1990s, the sport of basketball had become well established in Greece and the Greek A1 League had become the strongest professional league in Europe, as well as the richest. A rising number of television viewers in Greece watching the A1 League, a high level of Greek media interest in the sport, and the application of the country to host major sports events had left many of the nation's existing gyms too old and too small. In Athens, the OAKA Indoor Hall was opened in 1995. It holds about 20,000 spectators and it is still the biggest indoor sports hall in Europe where regular basketball games are held. The Athens Olympic Indoor Hall has already hosted the 1995 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, the EuroBasket 1995, the 1998 FIBA World Championship, and the 2004 Summer Olympics. Currently, Panathinaikos Athens and Maroussi Athens play home matches in the Olympic Hall. AEK Athens has played home matches there.
Also in 1995, the 5,500 capacity arenas Larrisa Neapolis and Dimitris Tofalos were built. In 2000, the first modern indoor sports arena in Thessaloniki was built, PAOK Sports Arena. The arena is under the possession of PAOK and it holds around 8,700 spectators. For the 2004 Olympic Games, the Helliniko Indoor Arena was built. It holds 15,000 spectators and has been used as the home arena of the clubs Panionios, Panellinios, and AEK Athens.
Plans have been approved to build several new modern indoor arenas in Greece. This is due to several factors, one of them being ULEB's new arena rules which state that by the 2012-13 season, Euroleague contract clubs must play in arenas that seat at least 10,000 and all Eurocup clubs must play in arenas that seat at least 5,000. Another big reason is that Greece is in line to host the 2013 Mediterranean Games. Some of these planned new indoor halls will include: a 10,000+ seat arena owned by Panathinaikos, a 10,000+ seat arena owned by Aris, and a 5,000+ seat arena owned by Iraklis.

Basketball in Greece (III)

Medals:

Basketball WC 2006 Final

The senior men's Greek national basketball team took part in its first FIBA European Championship (EuroBasket) at the EuroBasket 1949, where they won the bronze medal. Greece's first big success as a nation in basketball was when their senior men's national team won the gold medal at the EuroBasket 1987, which led to a breakthrough for the sport of basketball in the country. In the EuroBasket 1987 tournament's final, which was played in Piraeus, Greece, at Peace and Friendship Stadium (SEF), Greece defeated the heavily favored Soviet national basketball team (which included star player Šarūnas Marčiulionis) in overtime, by a score of 103 to 101.
The MVP of the EuroBasket 1987 was Nikos Galis, who to this day, still remains the biggest sports icon in Greece. In the subsequent EuroBasket tournament in 1989, Greece again reached the final, where they lost to the Yugoslavia national team, which led by its star player Dražen Petrović, went undefeated during the tournament. By taking the silver medal at the EuroBasket 1989, Greece cemented its position among Europe's leading basketball nations.
Greece also won the gold medal at the EuroBasket 2005, which was held in Serbia, after defeating Dirk Nowitzki-led Germany in the finals, by a score of 78 to 62.
Greece's senior men's national basketball team took part in a World Championship (now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup) for the first time at the 1986 FIBA World Championship, where they finished in tenth place. Greece made it to the semifinals of both the 1994 FIBA World Championship and the 1998 FIBA World Championship, which Greece also hosted. At the 2006 FIBA World Championship, which was held in Japan, Greece won the silver medal, after defeating the heavily favored USA by a score of 101-95 in the semifinals.

Greek sports (V)

Basketball in Greece (II):


International championships won:

Panathinaikos Athens

World Cup for Champion Clubs: (1996)

 Greek Basketball League English

Euroleague: (1996, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2011)

Olympiacos Piraeus

Euroleague: (1997, 2012)

AEK Athens

Saporta Cup: (1968, 2000)

Aris Thessaloniki

Saporta Cup: (1993)

Korać Cup: (1997)

FIBA Champions Cup: (2003)

PAOK Thessaloniki

Saporta Cup: (1991)

Korać Cup: (1994)

Maroussi Athens

Saporta Cup: (2001)

International successes of the Greek national basketball teams
Since winning the senior men's basketball EuroBasket 1987, the record of Greek national basketball shows numerous successes. Ten's national youth teams especially have recorded successes in international competitions.
Successes of the men's senior national team
Since the senior Greek national basketball team won its first EuroBasket in 1987, it has been a regular competitor at the EuroBasket, FIBA World Championship, and the Summer Olympics. The men's senior national team from 1987 included legendary players such as Nikos Galis, Panayiotis Yiannakis, Panagiotis Fassoulas, and Theofanis Christodoulou. Panayiotis Yiannakis also later became the senior team's head coach and he led the Greeks to win the European Championship (EuroBasket) again in the year 2005 at Belgrade. Yiannakis became the first person ever to have succeeded in winning the FIBA European Championship (EuroBasket) both as a player and as a head coach. After Greece had earlier in 2004 also won the European Championship in football, it gave Greece the rare extinction of being the European champion in the two most important team ball sports at the same time. At the 2006 FIBA World Championship held in Japan, Greece reached the final and won the silver medal. They accomplished this after becoming the only team at the tournament to beat Team USA, whom they defeated in the semifinals by a score of 101-95.

Greek sports (IV)

Basketball in Greece:
The sport of basketball in Greece erupted with the win in the EuroBasket 1987 in Piraeus, which caused a basketball euphoria in the country. Since then, Greek national teams have achieved international success, causing Greece to join Russia, Serbia, Italy, Spain, and Lithuania, in the circle of the European basketball powers. In addition to the success of the senior men's Greek national basketball team in 1987, they won a gold medal at the EuroBasket 2005 and the silver medals at the EuroBasket 1989 and the 2006 FIBA World Championship, and the bronze medal at the EuroBasket 2009. At the men's professional club level, the Greek clubs have, at European Cup competitions, under FIBA Europe and ULEB, won 15 international pro club championships, as well as a 16th international pro club championship at the FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs.
The Greek Basket League:
The first official men's basketball championship in Greece was held in the 1927-28 season. Until 1963 however, there was no unified national championship, and the champion was chosen through games between the regional champions. In 1963, the A National Category (Α' Εθνική Κατηγορία) was created. In 1992, the championship abandoned its amateur status and was officially recognized by FIBA as a professional league under the name HEBA A1 (Greek: ΕΣΑΚΕ Α1), organized by the Hellenic Basketball Clubs Association (HEBA). The league now operates under the name of Greek Basket League.
Successes of the pro club teams:
Greek men's professional basketball teams have a total of 24 appearances in the finals of European cup competitions, of which they have won a total of 15 championships. One of the achievements of Greece are the victories of Panathinaikos Athens (1996, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2011) and Olympiacos Piraeus (1997) in the finals of the men's Euroleague competition. Panathinaikos Athens also won the international World Cup for Champion Clubs competition in the year 1996.

Greek Sports (III)

Greece at the Olympics:

Greece has a long presence at the Olympic Games, as they have competed at every Summer Olympic Games, one of only four countries to have done so and the only one of them to compete under its national flag in Moscow, despite the Greek government's support for an American-led boycott of the 1980 Games, and most of the Winter Olympic Games. The National Olympic Committee for Greece is the Hellenic Olympic Committee, created in 1894 and recognized in 1895.
Greece has hosted the Games twice, both in Athens. As the home of the Ancient Olympic Games it was a natural choice as host nation for the revival of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, while Greece has also hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics. During the parade of nations at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, Greece always enters the stadium first due to its status as the birthplace of the Olympics. Before the Games the Olympic Flame is lit in Olympia, the site of the Ancient Olympic Games, in a ceremony that reflects ancient Greek rituals and initiates the Olympic torch relay. The flag of Greece is always hoisted in the closing ceremony, along with the flags of the current and the next host country.
Greek athletes have won a total of 110 medals in 15 different sports and the country currently ranks 31st in the all-time Summer Olympics medal count. Athletics and weightlifting have been the top medal-producing sports for the nation and in the latter Greece is placed among the top 10 countries overall. Gymnastics, shooting and wrestling are the other sports that have produced ten or more medals for Greece. In the inaugural 1896 Olympics, Greece finished second in the medal counts, but won the most medals in total, in their best Olympic performance. The Greeks finished third in the 1906 Intercalated Games with 8 gold, 14 silver and 0 bronze medals (35 in total), which were considered Olympic at the time but are not officially recognized by the IOC today.

Greek Cinema

Dogtooth:

Dogtooth (Greek: Κυνόδοντας, translit. Kynodontas) is a 2009 film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos about a husband and wife who keep their children ignorant of the world outside their property well into adulthood. The Greek drama stars Christos Stergioglou, Michelle Valley, Aggeliki Papoulia, Mary Tsoni and Christos Passalis. Dogtooth is Lanthimos' second feature film as solo director.^[1] The film won the Prix Un Certain Regard at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards.
Plot: 

A married couple and their three young adult children, a son and two daughters, live in a large compound with a garden and a swimming pool. A tall fence surrounds the property and the children have never been on the other side of it, for their parents have kept them unaware of the outside world, even of the existence of the telephone. They are taught different meanings for everyday words. For example, they are told that a "zombie" is "a small yellow flower," and that "sea" is a chair. The parents promise that each child will be ready to venture outside the compound once she or he has lost a dogtooth. Although the children are told they have a brother just on the other side of the barrier, he never appears.
A movie trailer:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bc4q9hkE4A

Greek Sports (II)

The Greek Football League:
Football is a highly popular sport in Greece.Superleague Greece is the top-flight professional football division within Greece. The league contains 16 clubs, with the winners of the league becoming the Champions of Greece. The team with the most national championships is Olympiacos, who have won 39 times - 5 Super League titles, 19 Alpha Ethniki titles and 15 Panhellenic Championships.[1] Two other P.O.K. clubs also dominate the history of Greek football; Panathinaikos with 21 titles and AEK Athens with 11 titles.
At the end of the season the bottom three clubs in Super League are relegated to Beta Ethniki, to be replaced by teams promoted from that division. Below the Beta Ethniki the league structure becomes regionalised, with a North and South Gamma Ethniki, 12 regional Delta Ethniki groups, and numerous Local championships one level lower.

Greek teams

UEFA competitions:

Club sides may qualify to play in European tournaments under the jurisdiction of UEFA. The champions of Super League qualify for the Group Stage of the following season's UEFA Champions' League. The teams finishing in second to fifth position qualify for a round-robin playoff, the winner of which will enter the Champions League at the Third Qualifying Round. The other three teams will qualify for the following season's UEFA Europa League, at the Play-off, Third Qualifying or Second Qualifying Round stage, dependent on their performance in the national level playoff. The winner of the Greek Cup also qualifies for the Europa League. If this club has already qualified for a UEFA competition then the place is given to the runners-up.

The only Greek team to have reached the final of a UEFA competition is Panathinaikos, who were European Cup runners-up in 1970–71.

On this page are the results for Greek teams in the season 2012/2013 :http://www.resultados-futbol.com/grecia

Greek Sports (I)

Olympic flame at opening ceremony

Panathenaic Stadium in Athens

Greek sports history:

Greece is the birthplace of the Olympic Games, first recorded in 776 BC. The Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, a replica of an ancient Greek stadium, hosted the Olympic Games in 1896. It had also hosted Olympic Games in 1870 and 1875. The Panathenaic stadium also hosted the Games in 1906 and was used to host events at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

The Greek national football team, ranked 14th in the world in 2012,won the UEFA Euro 2004 in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport.The Greek Super League is the highest professional football league in the country comprising sixteen teams. The most successful are Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Aris, PAOK and AEK Athens.
The Greek national basketball team has a decades-long tradition of excellence in the sport. As of 2012, it ranked 4th in the world.They have won the European Championship twice in 1987 and 2005, and have reached the final four in three of the last four FIBA World Championships, taking second place in 2006. In 2009, Greece beat France in the under-20 European Basketball championship.The domestic top basketball league, A1 Ethniki, is composed of fourteen teams. The most successful Greek teams are Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Aris Thessaloniki and PAOK. Water polo and volleyball are also practiced widely in Greece while cricket and handball are relatively popular in Corfu and Veroia respectively.