Achilleas

Achilleas Kaimakli Αχιλλέας Καϊμακλίου
Leagues	Cypriot Division A
Founded	1943
History	1943 - present
Arena	Gymnasium Palouriotissas (1000)
Location	Nicosia, Cyprus
Team colors	blue and white
Head coach	Takis Mirallais (men's head coach);
Championships	5 Cypriot Championships 7 Cypriot Cups
Website	www.achilleas.com.cy
Uniforms
Home Away

Achilleas (Αχιλλέας Καϊμακλίου) is a Cypriot basketball club founded in 1943, nowadays running basketball, volleyball and table tennis divisions. It has been a part of the community in the suburb of Kaimakli in Nicosia. The club is named after Achilles (Ἀχιλλεύς) a legendary figure of the Greek mythology.

Basketball

The Men's basketball division was one of the founding clubs of the Cyprus Basketball Federation. In terms of trophies Achilleas has won the Cyprus Basketball League five times, making it the 3rd most successful team on the island to date behind EKA AEL and APOEL. Through their domestic successes they have represented the island in several European competitions such as the Korać Cup (in 1999 and 2001), the Saporta Cup in 2000 and the Euroleague (historically The European Champions Cup).^[1] Several of Achilleas' players have been selected for the men's Cyprus national basketball team.

The most successful season was in 1992/93 when 6'11 Spider (Stephan) Ledesma and 6'4 Joseph Hutt, Native American players from the United States, led Club Achilleas to its last league championship. On opening night of the preseason, Club Achilleas led by a 48-point haul from Ledesma, overwhelmed a Div.I Greek team at Apoel stadium by 22 points. No team from Cyprus had ever defeated a first division team from Greece before—or since. Ledesma and Hutt led Achilleas to a 10-0 preseason and then league-best record of 17-1, though Hutt missed almost half of the team's regular season games due to a calf injury. In the finals, they defeated Club Apoel and John Flowers of UNLV 4 games to 1. Club Achilleas went 12-1 in the post season for a total record of 39-2. Spider was named League MVP & Finals MVP and declared the 'greatest foreigner to ever play in Cyprus' as voted by the Cypriot sports media.

The Women's basketball division competes in the Cyprus Women's Basketball League - First division. It has also represented Cyprus in European competitions.^[2]

Home games are played at the indoor Pallouriotisa Arena which only has a capacity for about 1,000 fans. The proximity of fans to the playing field has given it a reputation as an intimidating and tough home ground for away teams.

Roster

Achilleas Kaimakliou Roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. Νο. Nat. Name Ht. PG 4 Giannas, Panayiotis 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) SG 5 Johnson, Anthony 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) SG 6 Pantouris, Grigoris 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) C 7 Todic, Miroslav 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) PF 8 Biggs, Tyrell 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) SG 9 Georgiou, Giorgos (C) 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) SF 11 Stylianou, Stratis 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) C 12 Djikanovic, Savo 2.12 m (6 ft 11 in) PF 13 Angelov, Dimitar 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) PG 14 Frasor, Bobby 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) PF 15 Theocharidis, Giorgos 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	Head coach Kyriakos Giangoullis Assistant coach(es) Alexis Lekisvili Legend (C) Team captain

Former players

Spider (Stephan) Ledesma Joseph Hutt Marko Milisević Vladimir Radovanović Branko Zotović Emil Jonov Nikola Kuga Andelko Mandić Dejan Matić Zivko Misiraca Djordje Pantelić Zoran Stevanović

Cornelius Ausborne Cory Bradford Isaac Burton David Butler Jason Carter-Wallace Mark Clark Darrin Fowlkes Chris Garner Clayton Johnson Joseph Jones

Danny Jones Tony Lane Malcolm Leak Marquis Melton Jenny Reynolds Carlos Smith Everick Sullivan Adam Waleskowski Nate Wilbourne Michael Williams

Volleyball

The Men's volleyball division was one of the founding members of the Cyprus Volleyball Federation.^[3] It currently competes in the Cyprus Men's Volleyball Second division.^[4]

Honours

Men's Basketball

• Cyprus Basketball Division 1
  • Winner (5): 1974-75, 1976–77, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1992–93
  • Runner Up (6): 1986-87, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1996–97, 1998–99
• Cyprus Men's Basketball Cup:
  • Winner (7): 1973-74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1999–2000
  • Runner-up (4): 1980-81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 2009–10
• Cyprus Men's Basketball Supercup
  • Winner (4): 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996

Women's Basketball

• Cyprus Basketball Women's League – Division 1
  • Winner (1): 1986-87
  • Runner Up (1): 2000-01, 2009–10
• Cyprus Women's Basketball Cup:
  • Winner (1): 2006-07
  • Runner-up (4): 1999-00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2008–09

References

1. "Achileeas European participation". FIBA Europe. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
2. "FIBA Europe Ronchetti Cup: 2001 teams". FIBA Europe. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
3. "History of the Cyprus Volleyball federation". CVF. Archived from the original on 16 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
4. "Second division standings 2006-7". CVF. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-16.

External links

• Official homepage