| Near East | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Leagues | Greek C League Greek Cup | ||
| Founded | 1927 | ||
| History | 1927 – present | ||
| Arena | Near East Indoor Arena | ||
| Capacity | 1,300 | ||
| Location | Kaisariani,Athens,Greece | ||
| Team colors | Red and white | ||
| Head coach | Tolis Karnesis | ||
| Championships | 1Greek Championship (1936) 1Greek 2nd Division (1998) | ||
| Website | Eurobasket.com | ||
A.O. Near East B.C. is one of the oldest professionalbasketball clubs inGreece. The basketball club was founded in 1927. The team is located inKaisariani, which is a suburb of the city ofAthens. Near East's home arena, Near East Indoor Arena, is located only about 2 miles from the downtown center of Athens. It takes its name from theNear East Foundation.
Near East B.C. was one of the teams that participated in the first Pan-Hellenic Basketball tournament, which took place inThessaloniki,Greece. In 1936, Near East B.C. won its first officialGreek League championship, by defeating theUniversity of Athens basketball team inThessaloniki. To this day, this is still the only Greek national championship the club has won. In 1937, Near East B.C. finished second in the Greek League championship, as the University of Athens basketball club defeated them in the championship's final.
In more recent times, the Near East basketball team struggled to hold on to its position in thetop-tier-level league in Greece, the first divisionGreek Basket League. In 1998, the team won the top Greek pro league's second division championship, theGreek A2 League. The team participated in theEuropean-wide 3rd-tier levelFIBA Korać Cup, in the years1999–00 and2000–01. In2001–02, the team competed in theGreek first division, for the last time in recent years.
Near East plays its home domestic league games at the 1,300 seat Near East Indoor Arena.
Domestic:
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility atFIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
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To appear in this section a player must have either:
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Greece:
Antonis AsimakopoulosMarios BatisDimitris FossesKostas KaimakoglouGeorgios KaragkoutisNikos PapanikolopoulosKostas PolitisChristos TapoutosKostas TsartsarisNikos VetoulasVangelis VourtzoumisVassilis Xanthopoulos-
Anatoly ZourpenkoUSA:
Rest of Americas:
Europe:
Oceania:
