The 2022/23 season in the Basketball Champions League celebrates its premiere today (October 3rd) and the 32 teams start with ambitions and dreams. Likewise the three Greek teams that are in the tournament, PAOK, Peristeri, AEK, who will try to get to the next stages and continue on their course.

That Sportish presents everything there is to know about this year’s event. The system of execution, the rosters of the Greek teams, the players who shouldn’t escape your attention, but also the coaches who create a Greek village.

The behavioral system

The group stage will be completed by 32 teams (28 of which qualified directly and the remaining four emerged from qualification) in 8 groups of four teams each.

The teams finishing first in their group will advance directly to the Round of 16, while the teams finishing second and third in the groups will have to claim their place in the top 16 teams via the play-ins. The fourth-placed team will be automatically eliminated from the competition.

• play in

16 teams participate (the second and third teams of each group as they emerged from the regular season) and they play together in a best-of-three series (i.e. which team achieves the first two wins) with the winner going on it goes to the “16” (there a total of 8 teams qualify via the play-in process to find the first 8).

• round of 16

The 16 teams resulting from the above two phases will be divided into four groups of four teams each. The teams in each group play each other twice in a home-away system. The top two teams in each group advance to the Quarterfinals.

• quarter finals

Four couples, eight teams play each other with the goal of qualifying for the Final Four of the event. The four pairs will play a best-of-three series (depending on which team gets two wins first) and the winners will advance to the top four teams.

• last four

Two semifinals, two winners. The four teams play a knockout semi-final, with the two winners playing for the coveted trophy in the final and the two losers playing another match for third place (the minor final).

The Greek Entries

Our country is represented at the event with three teams. Peristeri, who will aim for something good with Vassilis Spanoulis as coach, AEK, which, like every year, is one of the stable values ​​of the groups and PAOK, which, despite having a difficult task, will do its best.

Dove

Trainer: Vassilis Spanoulis

depth chart

• PG: Sylvain Francisco, Dimitris Moraitis, Stelios Poulianitis, Konstantinos Bilalis
• SG: Marcus Denmon, Alexa Radanov
• SF: Leonidas Kaselakis, Yiannis Fitros, Sotiris Stavrakopoulos
• PF: Devin Davis, Giorgos Giuzelis, Dimitris Hatzis
• C: Miro Bilan, Sakour Juston, Vangelis Zugris

AEK

Trainer: Elias Kanzouris

• PG: Tim Fraser, Vasilis Xanthopoulos, Dimitris Flionis, Antonis Koniaris
• SG: Giannis Strelnieks, Konstantinos Papadakis, Andreas Petropoulos
• SF: Kenny Williams, Nikos Persedis
• PF: Alexander Madsen, Cameron McGriff, Panagiotis Filippakos,
• C: Akil Mitchell, Dimitris Mavroidis

PAOK

Trainer: Aris Lykogiannis

• PG: Jaylen Hunts, Jaylen Riley, Nikos Tsiakmas, Theodoris Konstantinidis
• SG: Yanik Franke, Giorgos Kamberidis
• SF: Darko Kelly, Christos Saloustros
• PF: Nathan Renfro, Vangelis Margaritis, Diamantis Slaftsakis
• C: Tyler Polley, Vassilis Christidis, Stratos Kalliontzis

Notable players

• Janis Strelnieks – AEK: With many participations in the EuroLeague with big teams, Giannis Strelnieks was the surprise of AEK last summer. The Latvia guard is capable of making a difference in the Union as he is an experienced shortstop and a valuable weapon for any coach. Last season he played in Lithuania with Zalgiris Kaunas and averaged 7.8 points with 3 assists. In the past he wore the jersey of CSKA Moscow and Olympiakos.

• Tim Fraser – AEK: A point guard straight out of the NBA, a player with experience from the best leagues in the world who will be a valuable tool in the hands of Elias Kanzouris. Tim Fraser is one of the players that will grace this year’s event and will raise the level of AEK with his talent and offensive skills.
• Rob Gray – Tophas: This is a case of a player who can make a difference in Dimitris Priftis’ squad. Rob Gray was named Most Valuable Player at the EuroCup Final 2021 as he lifted the trophy for Monaco. He’s only 1.85 tall, but a sharp marksman who can give opponents a headache and contribute to his team in many ways.
• Brian Angola – Galatasaray: After Angola had an excellent season with AEK last year (some of it was absent due to his health problems), Angola is now a player for another Greek coach, Andreas Pistiolis, and a player who can help in many areas of Turkey’s squad. The Colombian guard finished the season in the Union averaging 13 points with 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game and is one of the must-watch players not only of the Turkish team but of the entire organization.
• Sylvain Francisco-Peristeri: This is the latest addition to Vassilis Spanoulis and Peristeri’s squad, a signing that has caused quite a stir so far. The French point guard has displayed an excellent image in the team’s first friendlies, confirming both his shooting prowess and defensive skills. The 24-year-old had submitted his first writing tests in Manresa, where he averaged 11.8 points with 1.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in the 2021/22 season.

• Sadik Kambaca – Galatasaray: Just 21-year-old Turkey is one of the cases of players who had a chance to get promoted last season as it is a particularly promising case that Galatasaray want to capitalize on. Kampatsa played a supporting role at Besiktas last season but is believed to have more chances at Andreas Pistiolis’ Galatasaray.

• Giorgi Sermandini and Marcelinho Huertas – Tenerife: These are two players that need no introduction.

Georgia center Giorgi Sermandini has been with the Tenerife team since 2019 and is the team’s great weapon in the racquet and a clear threat to opposition defences. He’s been the team’s pillar for years and is the main and most reliable threat in the slugger, while his pick and roll with Huertas is one of the team’s greatest weapons.

On the other hand, Marcelinho Huertas is the team’s maestro, the player from whose hands most stages are created. A creator who makes his teammates happy and who can confuse and create problems when defending opponents with his creative mastery. Case in point, the 2021-22 season ended with the 39-year-old guard averaging 10.5 points and 7.3 assists.

• Jerick Harding – Manresa: After two years in Nieburg, Jeric Harding decided to do his own Step Up and agreed with Manresa. The 1.84m tall left-hander has already shown his credentials at BCL level with the Czech side and was one of the top scorers in the competition last year. He wants to show that again this year. If he succeeds, then next summer he may be at an even higher level.
• Eric McCollum and Mindaugas Kuzmingas – Karsijaka: The two experienced weapons of the Turkish team, one in the creation and execution part (McCollum) and one in the forward position (Kuzminskas). The two will do their best to help Karsijaka achieve her goals and it remains to be seen on the pitch if they will be able to work together in the way their coach wishes.

The groups by country

Spain and Turkey have the most representatives in the competition (5 teams per country), with Greece having three teams, as do France and Israel.

Analytically:

• Spain (5): Tenerife, Murcia, Unicaja Malaga, Manresa, Bilbao
• Turkey (5): Galatasaray, Bahcesehir, Darussafaka, Karsijaka, Tofas
• Greece (3): AEK, Peristeri, PAOK
• France (3): Dijon, Strasbourg, Limoges
• Israel (3): Bnei, Hapoel Holon, Hapoel Jerusalem
• Italy (2): Sassari, Reggio Emilia
• Germany (2): Giants, Bonn
• Hungary (1): Sobatelli
• Portugal (1): Benfica Lisbon
• Poland (1): Legia Warsaw
• Czech Republic (1): Nieburg
• Belgium (1): Ostend
• Bosnia (1): Igokea
• Lithuania (1): Ritas
• Latvia (1): Riga
• Denmark (1): Bakken Bears

The Greek training camp – the blue and white color on the benches of foreign teams

At this year’s event, the blue and white color is intense. Not only with the presence of three Greek teams, but also with the participation of six Greek head coaches. Both foreign and Greek teams in the competition relied on the knowledge and experience of Greek coaches, with Vassilis Spanoulis even making his debut as a coach in European competition.

Galatasaray – Andreas Pistiolis: Andreas Pistiolis, who has long proven his coaching skills and culminated in the team’s excellent development last season, is one of the Greek coaches who will sit on the bench edge of a foreign team.

With the help of another Greek, Konstantinos Papadopoulos, Galatasaray will look to go as far as they can in the tournament after backing their course in Greek hands.

Tofas – Dimitris Priftis: With experience from big clubs like Panathinaikos and Unix Kazan, Dimitris Priftis is the creator of the Turkish team, another one who trusts a Greek. With the know-how from European competitions, the 53-year-old technician will spend his 25th year on the bench and his second attempt abroad.

Ritas-George Dedas: At the age of 42, Giorgos Dedas will take on the role of head coach in an overseas team, in Ritas, Lithuania, a team he served as assistant coach from 2020. Now the Lithuanians trusted him and appointed him their first coach, hoping that Dedas will manage to lead the team to something good.

With experience from big teams like Olympiacos and AEK (where he was assistant coach), Ritas is the second foreign team in Deda’s career after his time as assistant to Avtodor Saratov.

Vassilis Spanoulis’ first coaching project

Vassilis Spanoulis, who made history as a player, as one of European basketball’s freshman legends, will don the coach’s suit to lead Peristeri in Greece and Europe this season. Kill Bill has a “winner mentality” and was a player who aimed to win every match.

Now that he’s changed his role and with a young squad on his hands, he’s looking to create a new story, turn the tide of his career and move beyond legendary status. Coach Spanoulis’ first test is positive and his main quality is discipline and nurturing of young talented kids who through his hands will try to do something good and impressive in the organization.