| Iraklis | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Head coach | |||||||||||
| League | Greek Basketball League European North Basketball League | |||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
| Born | (1971-07-31)31 July 1971 (age 54) Peristeri, Greece | |||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | |||||||||||
| Listed weight | 235 lb (107 kg) | |||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1988–2007 | |||||||||||
| Position | Shooting guard /small forward | |||||||||||
| Number | 5, 8, 9, 6 | |||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2008–present | |||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||
Playing | ||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Olympiacos Piraeus | |||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | Papagos | |||||||||||
| 1990–1997 | Olympiacos Piraeus | |||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Olimpia Milano | |||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | Aris Thessaloniki | |||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | P.A.O.K. | |||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Granada | |||||||||||
| 2003 | Viola Reggio Calabria | |||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Makedonikos Neapoli | |||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Panionios | |||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Aris Thessaloniki | |||||||||||
Coaching | ||||||||||||
| 2008 | Greece U20 | |||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Ermis Lagkada | |||||||||||
| 2014 | Aigaleo | |||||||||||
| 2020 | Iraklis Thessaloniki (assistant) | |||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Kolossos Rhodes (assistant) | |||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Aris Thessaloniki (assistant) | |||||||||||
| 2024 | Kolossos Rhodes | |||||||||||
| 2025–present | Iraklis Thessaloniki | |||||||||||
| Career highlights | ||||||||||||
As player:
| ||||||||||||
Medals
| ||||||||||||
Giorgos Sigalas (alternate spelling: Georgios) (Greek:Γιώργος Σιγάλας; born 31 July 1971 inPeristeri, Greece) is a Greek retired professionalbasketball player and is the currenthead coach forIraklis of theGreek Basketball League.[1][2]
During the decade of the 1990s, the 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) tallswingman was the regularteam captain of the pro clubOlympiacos Piraeus, of theGreek League and theEuroLeague, and also of theGreece men's national basketball team. NicknamedRambo,[3] during his playing career, Sigalas was one of the best European defensive players of his generation.
Sigalas helped Olympiacos Piraeus to win a EuroLeague title in1997, as well as to make two moreEuroLeague Finals appearances, in1994 and1995. With the Greece men's national team, he competed in six consecutiveEuroBasket tournaments, (1993,1995,1997,1999,2001, and2003), and he made it to the semifinals on the first three occasions. Sigalas was also instrumental on the Greek teams that made the semifinals of both the1994 FIBA World Championship and the1998 FIBA World Championship, as well as on Greece's team that finished in fifth place at the1996 Summer Olympic Games.
Sigalas won five consecutiveGreek League championships, while playing withOlympiacos Piraeus, from 1993 to 1997. He also won twoGreek Cup titles with Olympiacos, in 1994 and 1997. He also served as the team'scaptain.
In 1997, while playing with Olympiacos, Sigalas won the European basketballTriple Crown, meaning his team won theGreek League championship, theGreek Cup title, and also theEuropean-wide top-tier levelEuroLeague championship, all in the same season. As of 2020, it is still the only time it has happened in the club's history.
Sigalas leftOlympiacos Piraeus in 1997, after winning theEuroLeague championship with them, and he then joined theItalian League teamOlimpia Milano. He played there during the 1997–98 season.
Sigalas then returned to theGreek League the following year, to play withAris Thessaloniki. He stayed with Aris until 2000, when he transferred to Aris' arch-rivalPAOK Thessaloniki, with whom he played with from 2000 to 2002.
Sigalas next played in theSpanish League withGranada, at the beginning of the 2002–03 season.
Sigalas returned to theItalian League, to play withViola Reggio Calabria, at the end of the 2002–03 season.
In the last years of his pro playing career, Sigalas returned home to once again play in theGreek League, to finish his club career. He played withMakedonikos in the 2003–04 season, withPanionios in the 2004–05 season, and finally, Sigalas ended his career back withAris, where he played from 2005, until he retired in the year 2007.
Sigalas made his U18 international debut with theGreece men's national under-18 basketball team at the1990 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, and theGreece men's national under-20 basketball team won a silver medal at the1992 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.
Sigalas was the long-timecaptain of theGreece men's national basketball team. He played with the Greece men's national team in 185games. With Greece's senior team, he competed in six consecutiveEuroBaskets (1993,1995,1997,1999,2001, and2003).
Sigalas competed with the Greece men's national team at the1994 FIBA World Championship, and the1998 FIBA World Championship, as well as at the1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games.[4]
After retiring from playing professional club basketball, Sigalas worked as aTV basketballcommentator in Greece, forEuroLeague games. He also worked as abasketball coach for theGreece men's national under-20 basketball team. He would coachErmis Lagkada, during the 2009–10 season.
Later, he coached theCypriot League teamKeravnos,[5] and the Greek teamAigaleo.[6]
In January 2020, Sigalas was hired as the assistant coach ofIlias Kantzouris, forGreek Basket League clubIraklis Thessaloniki. He then spent two seasons as an assistant coach withKolossos Rodou, before returning toAris in 2022, under coachKastritis.
