Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C.

Iraklis Thessaloniki
Nickname The Elder
Leagues Greek A2 League
Greek Cup
Founded 1924 (1924)
Arena Ivanofeio Sports Arena
Capacity 2,443
Location Thessaloniki, Greece
President Theodoros Drakopoulos
Head coach Lefteris Chatzikyriakidis
Championships 2 Greek Championships
Website iraklisbc.gr
Uniforms

Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C. (Greek: ΚΑΕ Ηρακλής Θεσσαλονίκης, Greek pronunciation: [iɾa'klis θesalo'nicis]) is a Greek professional basketball team that is located in Thessaloniki. It serves as the basketball section of the multi-sport club G.S. Iraklis. Iraklis will play in the Greek A2 for the 2017–18 season.

The team's colors are blue and white. Iraklis has won the Greek National Championship in 1928 and 1935, and has also reached the Greek Cup final three times. Several international national team players have played for the club, including: Dimitris Diamantidis, Lazaros Papadopoulos, Sofoklis Schortsanitis, Nikos Chatzivrettas, Lefteris Kakiousis, Jure Zdovc, and Vasily Karasev, as well as NBA stars such as Roy Tarpley, Xavier McDaniel, and James Donaldson.

History

Iraklis won the inaugural Greek Championship in 1928, and won it again, in 1935.

The parent athletic club was founded in 1908, and initially featured football. The club is named after Heracles (or Hercules), the mythical Greek demigod. The basketball team of Iraklis was established in 1924.[1]

Iraklis won the inaugural Greek League championship in 1928.[2][3] To win the championship, Iraklis had to eliminate AEK Athens and Near East, before beating VAO in the championship game.[4] The team won its second Greek championship in 1935.[2] Also in the team's history, three times Iraklis finished in second place in the Greek Championship (1936, 1962, and 1964), three times Iraklis has been a Greek Cup Finalist (1981, 1994, and 1996), and two times Iraklis made it to the semifinals of the European 2nd-tier level league Cup Winners' Cup.[5]

Iraklis reached the semifinals of the 1994–95 FIBA European Cup, where they competed against Taugrés.[6] Iraklis won the first game 79–78, but lost the next two games, to be eliminated 2–1 in a best of three series.[6] In 1996, an Iraklis team led by former NBA players Xavier McDaniel and Roy Tarpley, reached the Greek Cup Final Four.[7] By beating Apollon Patras in the semifinal, Iraklis reached the final, where it then lost 85–74 to Panathinaikos.[7] Iraklis has also twice competed in the top European continental competitions. The club played in the European top-tier level European Champions' Cup in the 1995–96 season, and also competed in the FIBA SuproLeague during the 2000–01 season.

Recent history (2005-present)

In 2006, Iraklis was relegated to the Greek A2 Basket League, after finishing 13th in the first-tier Greek League.[8] In 2010, after four seasons in the second-tier level Greek League, the team was promoted back up to the top-tier Greek Basket League.[9] After one season in the Greek top-tier level, Iraklis was again relegated down to the A2, with two matches left in the season.[10] At the end of the season, Iraklis chose to play in the third-tier level of Greek basketball, the Greek B Basket League, in order to clear its debts.[11][12][13] The club was promoted to the Greek A2 Basket League in 2013, after finishing 2nd in its group, and after Peristeri failed to receive financial clearance to participate in the league.[14]

In Europe

Home arena

Ivanofeio Sports Arena.

Iraklis plays its home games in the Ivanofeio Sports Arena, an arena with a seating capacity of 2,443.[15] The arena opened in 1987, and it was expanded to its current capacity in 1991. Ivanofeio is situated in the Thessaloniki city center, and it is owned by the GS Iraklis multi-sport club.[15]

Supporters

The most prominent supporters' club of the team is Aftonomi Thira 10 (meaning Autonomous Gate 10), a fan club with a total of 15 branches in Northern Greece.[16] The fan club is known for holding an antiracist stance, as it participates in the Ultras Antiracist Festival.[17] Other activities of the fan club include the publication of a magazine, and the conducting of an annual festival.[18][19] Other minor supporters' clubs are SFISE, Blue Boys, A.P.A.T.S.I., and Iraklis Fan Club of Athens.[20] In a 2013 opinion poll, Iraklis was ranked as the 6th most popular basketball club in Greece, gathering 2.8% of the participating supporters' votes.[21]

Players

Current roster

Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C. roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
PF 4 Greece Angelakopoulos, Vasilis 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 39 – (1979-08-24)24 August 1979
F 5 Greece Athanasoulas, Ioannis 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 107 kg (236 lb) 31 – (1987-01-21)21 January 1987
PG 7 Estonia Sokk, Sten 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) 80 kg (176 lb) 29 – (1989-02-14)14 February 1989
C 8 Greece Benas, Stamatis 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 33 – (1985-10-14)14 October 1985
PF 11 Greece Kakaroudis, Kostas 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 111 kg (245 lb) 35 – (1983-05-02)2 May 1983
G/F 15 Greece Kalaitzidis, Dimitris 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 80 kg (176 lb) 33 – (1985-02-15)15 February 1985
SG 20 Greece Giannakidis, Michalis 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 30 – (1988-04-06)6 April 1988
SG Greece Polytarchou, Michalis 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 103 kg (227 lb) 35 – (1983-06-23)23 June 1983
PF Lithuania Rutkauskas, Ronaldas 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 26 – (1992-03-03)3 March 1992
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured
Updated: 8 October 2016

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench
C
PF Kostas Kakaroudis Vasilis Angelakopoulos
SF Stathis Papadionysiou Apollon Deligeorgis
SG Kostas Totsios Michalis Giannakidis
PG Sten Sokk Dimitris Kalaitzidis

Notable players

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

Head coaches

Jure Zdovc played for Iraklis between 1993–1996, and coached the team in the 2005–06 season.
Name Nationality From To Championships
Makis Piritidis Greece 1979 1980
Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou Greece 1980 1981 1 Greek Cup Finalist 1981
Michalis Giannouzakos Greece 1987 1987
Soulis Markopoulos Greece 1987 1990
Steve Giatzoglou Greece 1990
1996		 1992
1996		 1 Greek Cup Finalist 1996
Theodoros Rodopoulos Greece 1992 1992
CIko Awerbuck United States 1992 1992
Johnny Neumann United States 1993 1993
Dragan Šakota Serbia and Montenegro Serbia Greece 1993
1998		 1994
2000		 1 Greek Cup Finalist 1994
Slobodan Subotić Slovenia Greece 1994
1995		 1995
1995
Tom Newell United States 1996 1996
Zoran Slavnić Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1997 1997
Vangelis Alexandris Greece 1997
2015		 1998
present
Makis Dendrinos Greece 2000 2000
Lefteris Kakiousis Greece 2004
2009		 2005
2010
Jure Zdovc Slovenia 2006 2006
Darko Russo Serbia 2010 2011

Honours

Total titles: 2

Domestic competitions

Winners (2): 1927–28, 1934–35
Runner up (3): 1935–36, 1961–62, 1963–64
Runners-up (3): 1980–81, 1993–94, 1995–96

European competitions

Semifinalist (1): 1994–95

See also

References

  1. ↑ Οι σημαντικές στιγμές στο πέρασμα των χρόνων (in Greek). Bluearena.gr. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 Giannopoulos, Nikos (4 June 2014). Η χρυσή βίβλος του ελληνικού πρωταθλήματος μπάσκετ (in Greek). contra.gr. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  3. ↑ Mpakolas, Giorgos (29 May 2015). Θεσσαλονίκη: Μπασκετομάνα ή φτωχομάνα (in Greek). EuroHoops.net. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Ιστορία (in Greek). Iraklis BC. 27 August 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  5. ↑ Iraklis club history.
  6. 1 2 Maragousia, Antonia (16 April 2010). Ταξίδι στο χρόνο από το 1968 έως σήμερα (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  7. 1 2 Η ιστορία των τελικών Κυπέλλου Μπάσκετ (in Greek). pamesports.gr. 9 February 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  8. ↑ Κάθε χρονιά κι ένα μάθημα (in Greek). Bluearena.gr. 29 April 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  9. ↑ Φινάλε με γιορτή στο Ιβανώφειο (in Greek). Bluearena.gr. 29 May 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  10. ↑ Maragousia, Antonia (13 April 2011). Ηρακλής - Πανιώνιος: 52-59 (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  11. ↑ Διαλύεται η ΚΑΕ Ηρακλής (in Greek). Bluearena.gr. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  12. ↑ Αρχίζει ο σχεδιασμός για τη Β΄ Εθνική (in Greek). Bluearena.gr. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "Οριστικά στη Β' Εθνική ο Ηρακλής". sport24.gr. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  14. ↑ Loutsi, Alexandra (July 3, 2013). "Ηρακλής: Ανεβαίνει Α2". onsports.gr. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  15. 1 2 Ιβανώφειο (in Greek). stadia.gr. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  16. ↑ Σύνδεσμοι ΑΘ10 (in Greek). Αυτόνομη Θύρα 10 Official site. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  17. ↑ Αντιρατσιστικό οπαδικό μήνυμα (in Greek). gazzetta.gr. 4 July 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  18. ↑ Το περιοδικό της "Αυτόνομης" (in Greek). Bluearena.gr. 20 September 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  19. ↑ "SICK 'N' BLUE festival στο Ιβανώφειο" (in Greek). Bluearena.gr. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  20. ↑ Ανακοίνωση Συνδέσμων - ΓΣ - ΠΑΕ - ΚΑΕ (in Greek). Αυτόνομη Θύρα 10 Official site. 2 January 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  21. ↑ Τι έλαβαν όλες οι ομάδες στο "οπαδοψήφισμα" (in Greek). gazzetta.gr. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
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