Women’s EuroCup: Olympiacos follow in Athenian’s footsteps with aim to make their mark in Europe

The Olympiacos women’s basketball team enters the next phase of the EuroCup Women. Despite losing by four points in their first game against Aydin at SEF, the Zimbarts red-whites were unstoppable in Turkey and secured their place in the top eight teams of the tournament that took place on Wednesday afternoon (23/2, 18:00 CET). p.m.) will take place in the first match between them and France’s Bourges.

This is a special system as under normal circumstances Olympiacos would be in the Quarterfinals. But that is exactly not the case here. The Red-Whites are one stage away from the quarterfinals, as if crossing the Bourges barrier, then four teams from the EuroLeague groups will advance to the EuroCup quarterfinals (the 5th and 6th teams of each group) and together with The four of The tournament will compose the teams of the quarterfinals.

This is a major achievement for women’s basketball at European level, as the last time a Greek team went far in a European tournament was Athinaikos in the 2010–11 season. If Olympiakos overcome the Bourges obstacle, they will match the success of Athinaikos, who reached the semi-finals in 2011 after winning the Women’s EuroCup title a season earlier (2009/10).

It was April 2010 when Nikos Hardalias’ Athenian (known to many as the former Deputy Minister for Civil Protection and Crisis Management and now Deputy Minister for National Defense) won the EuroCup trophy and became the only Greek team to win the European top spot in women’s basketball. Not much has changed since then as no other team in our country has been able to reach such heights.

In early April he defeated George Dikaioulakos 57-65 on the bench at Nadezhda in Russia, laying the foundation for winning the EuroCup. A week later, on April 8, 2010, she suffered the sweetest defeat in her history. She lost at home to the Russian team 53-57, but the difference she made compared to the first game was enough to propel her to the top of Europe and give her the precious trophy of the tournament.

Athinaikos then gathered the best Greek players around him and, together with the top foreign athletes, conquered the top of Europe triple crown (Championship, Cup and European Championship). The list of this dream year for the Byron team was compiled by Tula Kalentzou, Aphrodite Kosma, Zoe Kehagia, Poly Saregou, Lolita Lymoura, Olga Hatzinikolaou, Ruth Riley, Nicole Souleim, Vakina Voronera, Vakina Volinaro Candice Wiggins. A year later, she again reached the top of the tournament with top-flight players, but failed to defend her title and lost in the semifinals, eventually winning third place.

Since then, no Greek team has been able to match the performance of Byron’s team. Athinaikos held the title of the most successful Greek team in Europe to date. Athenaikos is no longer in the A1 category but has left a name and achievements that will mark his jersey for life. Olympiakos has played within the limits in women’s basketball with several successes in recent years, but a good course in Europe is something he’s lacking and is aiming for in the 2021/22 season.

It has a mix of top Greek athletes and excellent foreigners who can achieve a little more in the organization and at the helm of a successful coach who knows how to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Although the first game against Aydin wasn’t perfect, the Red-Whites made up the difference at the end of the first game and hit the gas pedal in the second and ended up getting what they wanted, the qualification.

With Tolfri, Stamolamprou, Stamati, Nikolopoulou, Alexandri, Spyridopoulou, Vitola, Syrra, Fouraki, Diela, Vamvaka, Panteli, Hublin and Plouf, the Piraeus team is called upon to turn the tide once again in the Greek women’s European basketball team map after the 2010 season /11.