AO Near East BC is one of the oldest professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 clubs in Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. The basketball club was founded in the year 1927. The team is located in Kaisariani

Kaisariani

Kaisariani , also Kessariani, is a suburb in the eastern part of Athens, Greece. Kaisariani is located about 7 km from downtown Athens, about 4 km SW of Katechaki Avenue 4 km from the Hymettus Ring , which forms part of the Attiki Odos private superhighway network, and 6 km S...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, which is a suburb of the city of Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. Near East's home arena, Near East Indoor Arena, is located only about 2 miles from the downtown center of Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

.

Early history

Near East BC was one of the teams that participated in the first Pan-Hellenic

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 Basketball tournament, which took place in Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. In 1936, Near East BC won its first official Greek Championship

A1 Ethniki

The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...

 by defeating The University of Athens basketball team in Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...

. To this day, this is still the only Greek National Championship the club has won. In 1937, Near East BC finished second in the Greek Championship as The University of Athens basketball club defeated them in the Championship's final.

Recent history

In more recent times, the Near East basketball team struggled to hold onto its position in the top league in Greece's first division the Greek A1 League

A1 Ethniki

The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...

. In 1998, the team won the top Greek pro league's second division championship the Greek A2 League

A2 Ethniki

The HEBA A2 or commonly called, the Greek A2 League, is the second division of the highest professional basketball competition among pro clubs in Greece. It is operated by the Hellenic Basketball Clubs Association . The league has 16 teams...

. The team participated in the Korać Cup

Korac Cup

The Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971-72 and 2001-02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the European Champions' Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup...

 in the years 2000 and 2001. In 2002, the team competed in the A1

A1 Ethniki

The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...

 first division for the last time in recent years.

Championships

• Total Titles: 2

• National: 1
  • Greek Championship
    A1 Ethniki
    The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...
    
    :
    • 1936

• Divisional: 1
  • Greek A2 League
    A2 Ethniki
    The HEBA A2 or commonly called, the Greek A2 League, is the second division of the highest professional basketball competition among pro clubs in Greece. It is operated by the Hellenic Basketball Clubs Association . The league has 16 teams...
    
    :
    • 1998

Notable players

Kostas Tsartsaris Kostas Tsartsaris Konstantinos "Kostas" Tsartsaris , is a Greek professional basketball player. He is a 6 ft 10 ¾ in tall 115.4 kg power forward, who can also play at the center position if needed... Christos Tapoutos Christos Tapoutos Christos Tapoutos is a Greek professional basketball player. He is 2.08 m in height. He plays small forward and power forward positions. During his early professional years, Tapoutos was considered to be one of the greatest European talents and scorers in his age group.Tapoutos is currently plays... Giorgos Karagoutis Giorgos Karagoutis Giorgos Karagoutis , is a Greek professional basketball player.-Career:Karagoutis started his career with Panionios BC at the age of 16. He was a Greek Cup finalist in 1995 and in 1998 he was a Korać Cup semi finalist with Panionios BC.In 1999, Karagoutis moved to Panathinaikos BC and won the... Vasilis Xanthopoulos Vasilis Xanthopoulos Vasilis Xanthopoulos ; born April 29, 1984 in Maroussi, Athens, Greece is a Greek professional basketball player. He is 6 ft 2 in tall and he plays the point guard position.-Pro career:Xanthopoulos grew up playing for the Olympiacos Piraeus junior teams, starting to play with them in 1997... Kostas Politis Kostas Politis Konstantinos Politis is a retired Greek professional basketball player and coach.- Career as a Player :Politis played for Panathinaikos and he won 3 Greek Championships with them . In 1969, he was a Cup Winners' Cup semifinalist... Kostas Kaimakoglou Kostas Kaimakoglou Konstantinos "Kostas" Kaimakoglou is a Greek professional basketball player. He is a 6 ft 8¾ in tall cornerman.-Pro career:Kaimakoglou began his professional career with the Greek League club Near East during the 2002–03 season. In 2004, he moved to Maroussi... Marios Batis Marios Batis Marios Batis is a Greek professional basketball player. He is a 1.91 m tall point guard-shooting guard.-Pro career:... Nikos Papanikolopoulos - Anatoly Zourpenko Anatoly Zourpenko Anatoly Zourpenko or Anatoli Zhurbenko is a retired Greek-Russian professional basketball player.-Pro career:He played with Olympiacos BC from 1996 to 1998... - Franko Nakić Franko Nakic Franko Nakić is a retired Greek–Croatian professional basketball player. He is the son of Mile Nakić who was a pro water polo coach.-Pro career:...

Anthony Bowie Anthony Bowie Anthony Lee Bowie is an American basketball player. He is a former NBA shooting guard, most renowned for his stint with the Orlando Magic... Shawn Respert Shawn Respert Shawn Christopher Respert is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'1", 195 lb. shooting guard, he attended Bishop Borgess High School, and he came to prominence while playing college basketball at Michigan State University where his jersey is now retired... Randy White Randy White (basketball) Randy White is an American former professional basketball player.A 6'8", 240 pound power forward, White was a star at Louisiana Tech University, where he averaged 21.2 points and 10.5 rebounds as a senior and earned the nicknames "Mailman II" and "Mailkid"... David Vaughn III Lynn Greer Andres Guibert Andres Guibert Andrés Guibert is a retired Cuban basketball player. In 1993 he defected from the Cuban delegation at the Centroamerican Games being held in Ponce, Puerto Rico.... Shane Heal Shane Heal Shane Douglas Heal is a retired Australia professional basketball player who last played with the Gold Coast Blaze of the National Basketball League, retiring at the end of the 2008/09 season. During his early years as a player, Heal played for the Brisbane Bullets and the Geelong Supercats...

External links

• Eurobasket.com Team Page