Proteas EKA AEL
Encyclopedia
Proteas EKA AEL , is a Cypriot
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 club based in Limassol
Limassol
Limassol is the second-largest city in Cyprus, with a population of 228,000 . It is the largest city in geographical size, and the biggest municipality on the island. The city is located on Akrotiri Bay, on the island's southern coast and it is the capital of Limassol District.Limassol is the...

, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

. The club competes in the Cypriot League
Cyprus Basketball Division 1
The Cypriot First Division A of the Men’s Basketball League is currently the top competition on the Cyprus Basketball calendar. It is run and governed by the Cyprus Basketball Federation...

. The co-presidents of the team are Michael Loizides of Eka and Andreas Sofokleous of Proteas and Team Manager Alexandros Demetriou http://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrosdemetriou
.

History

Proteas Danoi AEL was founded in 1966 and it is one of the founding members of Cyprus Basketball Federation
Cyprus Basketball Federation
The Cyprus Basketball Federation is the governing body for basketball on the island of Cyprus and is a division of the Cyprus Sport Organisation...

. With coach one of the schoolteachers of the sport in Cyprus, Michalaki Nikolaidi, AEL took part in the first official championship in 1967. It is established as the “queen” of Cyprus Basketball. Other than the 15 championships, the 9 Cups and the 7 Super Cups, AEL is the only Cypriot team that has ever won a European title (Regional Challenge Cup, South Conference 2003). In 2007, for the fifth consecutive year, the team won the Cypriot championship
Cyprus Basketball Division 1
The Cypriot First Division A of the Men’s Basketball League is currently the top competition on the Cyprus Basketball calendar. It is run and governed by the Cyprus Basketball Federation...

, becoming the first Cypriot side to do so.

European campaigns

In 2003, the “queen” was crowned with their first European crown after conquering the newly established Regional Challenge Cup (South Conference). That was a triumph which has been achieved with the astonishing record of 10 victories in 10 games.
That was the beginning of the European success of AEL Limassol which continues until today.
After winning the Regional Challenge Cup, AEL participated as Cypriot champions the following year in the new FIBA EuroCup
EuroChallenge
The EuroChallenge is the 3rd tier level transnational men's professional club basketball competition in Europe. It is organized and run by FIBA Europe...

 and qualified from the group phase to best 16 teams. In the Group phase, AEL eliminated teams like Peristeri and Paris Basket Racing
Paris Basket Racing
Paris Basket Racing, or PBR, is a now-defunct French professional basketball club from Paris. It was founded in the year 1922 as the basketball section of the sports club Racing Club de Paris. The team took the name "Paris Basket Racing" in 2000....

. They were eliminated in the round of 16 by Hapoel Tel Aviv
Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C.
Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. is an Israeli basketball club. The second most successful side in Israeli basketball, The club Owned by Hapoel Tel Aviv Supporters Trust and is currently in Liga Leumit, the Second tier.-History:...

. They were very close to do the same achievement in the same competition in 2004-05 but in 2005-06, when the competition changed formation AEL achieved to pass the first group round by finishing second, eliminating PAOK BC
PAOK BC
P.A.O.K. Thessaloniki B.C. is the professional basketball department of the Greek multi-sports club P.A.O.K., originally founded in 1926 and is based in Thessaloniki, Greece. The club has established a firm reputation in Greek sports, especially for its success in European leagues...

 and Kallev Tallinn and reached the second round (round of 16) where they finished last in their group.

The effort to reach the quarter finals was achieved in 2006-07 even though during this time AEL faced tougher opponents than the previous years. Being in the same group at the first round with former European Champions Virtus Bologna
Virtus Bologna
-Notable players: Marco Bonamico 9 seasons: '75-'76, '77-'78, '80-'86, '88-'89 Carlo Caglieris 6 seasons: '75-'81 Pietro Generali 6 seasons: '75-'76, '78-'83 Gianni Bertolotti 5 seasons: '75-'80 Terry Driscoll 3 seasons: '75-'78 Eric Luc Leclerc 1 season: '75-'76 Luigi Serafini 2 seasons: '75-'77...

, the famous ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne
ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne
ASVEL Basket or ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne is a French professional basketball team located in the city of Villeurbanne, which is a suburb of Lyon, France. The club, which is the basketball section of the ASVEL multi-sport club, competes in the French Pro A league. The club's home games are played at...

 and the Astronauts Amsterdam, very few would believe that AEL had any chance to qualify. However, those expectations didn't become true and after the surprise victory against Virtus Bologna
Virtus Bologna
-Notable players: Marco Bonamico 9 seasons: '75-'76, '77-'78, '80-'86, '88-'89 Carlo Caglieris 6 seasons: '75-'81 Pietro Generali 6 seasons: '75-'76, '78-'83 Gianni Bertolotti 5 seasons: '75-'80 Terry Driscoll 3 seasons: '75-'78 Eric Luc Leclerc 1 season: '75-'76 Luigi Serafini 2 seasons: '75-'77...

 with a score 88-83 and the home win against the French giants Villeurbanne 84-58, finished at second place of group 2 and qualified to second round with four wins and two losses. Unlike the previous year, when AEL finished with 0 points in the second round, being in the same group with CB Estudiantes
CB Estudiantes
Club Baloncesto Estudiantes, S.A.D., known as Asefa Estudiantes for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball team based in the city of Madrid, Community of Madrid. It is member of the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto . Founded in 1948, it is one of the most recognized basketball teams in Spain...

, with the Liege Basket and BC Šiauliai
BC Šiauliai
BC „Šiauliai“ is the professional basketball club of Šiauliai, Lithuania. The club competes in the Lithuanian Basketball League, Baltic Basketball League and ULEB Eurocup. It has won the 3rd place award in the LKL a record 9 times.-Club History:The team was head coached by Antanas Sireika for...

, they finished second with 5 victories and 1 defeat same with the pioneering Estudiantes because of the matches between those teams. AEL beat Estudiantes 63-62. AEL reached the quarter finals but the dream to reach the final four didn't become truth after they were eliminated by the Ukrainian team Azovmash 2-1 in victories. AEL won at home 85-79 but was beaten away 88 - 63 and 97 - 69.
DTL EKA AEL finished unbeaten at Home.

Roster

Proteas EKA AEL Roster
Players Coaches
Pos. Νο. Nat. Name

Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Team Manager

Legend:
  • (C) Team captain

Former players

Ali Bouziane
Ali Bouziane
Ali Bouziane is an Algerian professional basketball player. He currently plays for Proteas EKA AEL in Cyprus and the Algeria national basketball team.-External links:* FIBA Europe...

 Aleksandar Radojević
Aleksandar Radojevic
Aleksandar Radojević is a professional basketball player who plays for APOEL in Cyprus.-Early life:Radojević was born in either Herceg Novi, or Bijela,Montenegro, or Trebinje, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, all in the now former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...

 Arseni Kuchinsky Olivier Ilunga Bruno Šundov
Bruno Šundov
Bruno Šundov is a Croatian professional basketball player, currently playing for PBC Lukoil Academic. He is a 2.21 m and 122 kg center...

 Karim Souchu Zydrunas Urbonas Kęstutis Šeštokas
Kestutis Šeštokas
Kęstutis Šeštokas is a Lithuanian professional basketball player, who plays at the power forward position. Currently he is a member of Molėtai Ežerūnas-Karys basketball team. He is the only player who has won the domestic leagues of all three Baltic states...

 Mihal Hlebowicki
Milutin Aleksić
Milutin Aleksic
Milutin Aleksić is a professional basketball player.A native of Belgrade, Aleksić began his career with Red Star Belgrade. He moved to Montenegro in 2002 and spent one season and a half with Buducnost before going on loan to Lemsos midway through the 2003–04 season.He played for the following...

 Aleksandr Dedushkin
Aleksandr Dedushkin
Aleksandr Dedushkin is a Russian professional basketball player. He is a center. He is 2.07 m in height and 120 kg in weight.-Pro career:...

 Vasily Zavoruev Frankie King
Frankie King
Frankie Alexander King is an American professional basketball player. He is a 6 ft 2 ½ and 185 lb guard, and played collegiately at Brunswick College and Western Carolina University...

 Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald (basketball)
Michael Dewayne McDonald is a retired American basketball player. A 6'10" and center, he played collegiately for Utah Valley State College and the University of New Orleans. In 1990–91 he averaged 12.3 points and 8.3 rebounds for Utah Valley...

 Ryan Randle Duane Woodward Reggie Larry Darrin Fowlkes

European wins

Date Competition Match Place Score Spectators
19.11.1997 Korac Cup 1998 Preliminary Round AEL Limassol - Hapoel Galil Elyon Limassol (CYP) 88 - 83 500
17.10.2001 Korac Cup 2002 Elimination Round II AEL Limassol - Roseto Basket Limassol (CYP) 20 - 0 -
24.10.2001 Korac Cup 2002 Elimination Round II Roseto Basket - AEL Limassol Roseto Degli Abruzzi (ITA) 0 - 20 -
29.10.2002 Regional Challenge Cup 2003
Qualifying Round
EKA AEL - Nikol Fert-G Limassol (CYP) 84 - 75 350
06.11.2002 Regional Challenge Cup 2003
Qualifying Round
HKK Brotnjo - EKA AEL Citluk (BIH) 74 - 75 500
13.11.2002 Regional Challenge Cup 2003
Qualifying Round
EKA AEL - BC Zrinjevac Limassol (CYP) 82 - 70 800
04.12.2002 Regional Challenge Cup 2003
Qualifying Round
Nikol Fert - EKA AEL Gostivar (MKD) 67 - 87 300
11.12.2002 Regional Challenge Cup 2003
Qualifying Round
EKA AEL - HKK Brotnjo Limassol (CYP) 94 - 83 1500
18.12.2002 Regional Challenge Cup 2003
Qualifying Round
BC Zrinjevac - EKA AEL Zagreb (CRO) 72 - 77 900
07.01.2003 Regional Challenge Cup 2003
Quarter Final
EKA AEL - HKK Brotnjo Limassol (CYP) 97 - 74 1500
09.01.2003 Regional Challenge Cup 2003
Quarter Final
EKA AEL - HKK Brotnjo Limassol (CYP) 95 - 78 1500
12.01.2003 Regional Challenge Cup 2003
Semi Final
Apollonas - EKA AEL Limassol (CYP) 52 - 73 2000
13.01.2003 Regional Challenge Cup 2003
Final
EKA AEL - KK Igokea Limassol (CYP) 92 - 82 3500
18.11.2003 EuroCup 2004 Qualifying Round KK Hemofarm - EKA AEL Vrsac (SCG) 68 - 75 1500
25.11.2003 EuroCup 2004 Qualifying Round EKA AEL - Dexia Mons-Hainaut Limassol (CYP) 69 - 68 1200
02.12.2003 EuroCup 2004 Qualifying Round EKA AEL - BC Khimki Limassol (CYP) 87 - 68 2000
16.12.2003 EuroCup 2004 Qualifying Round EKA AEL - Paris Basket Racing Limassol (CYP) 72 - 67 2000
13.01.2004 EuroCup 2004 Qualifying Round ANWIL Wloclawek - EKA AEL Wloclawek (POL) 54 - 68 2500
20.01.2004 EuroCup 2004 Qualifying Round EKA AEL - GS Peristeri Limassol (CYP) 63 - 57 2500
03.02.2004 EuroCup 2004 Qualifying Round Dexia Mons-Hainaut - EKA AEL Mons (BEL) 76 - 81 1700
02.11.2004 EuroCup 2005 Qualifying Round EKA AEL - KK Belgrade Limassol (CYP) 81 - 79 1000
30.11.2004 EuroCup 2005 Qualifying Round EKA AEL - Hraklis Thessalonikis Limassol (CYP) 88 - 77 1200
07.12.2004 EuroCup 2005 Qualifying Round EKA AEL - Olympia Larissas Limassol (CYP) 89 - 80 1200
23.12.2005 EuroCup 2005 Qualifying Round KK Belgrade - EKA AEL Belgrade (SRB) 0 - 20 -
12.01.2005 EuroCup 2005 Qualifying Round EKA AEL - Khimik Yuzhny Limassol (CYP) 83 - 64 1800
18.01.2005 EuroCup 2005 Qualifying Round EKA AEL - Paris Basket Racing Limassol (CYP) 64 - 58 1800
01.02.2005 EuroCup 2005 Qualifying Round Hraklis Thessalonikis - EKA AEL Thessaloniki (GRE) 87 - 89 500
08.02.2005 EuroCup 2005 Qualifying Round Olympia Larissas - EKA AEL Larissa (GRE) 69 - 73 100
26.10.2005 EuroCup 2006 Round 1 Privatbank EKA AEL - BC Kalev Limassol (CYP) 67 - 49 1500
02.11.2005 EuroCup 2006 Round 1 PAOK - Privatbank EKA AEL Thessaloniki (GRE) 74 - 75 500
09.11.2005 EuroCup 2006 Round 1 Privatbank EKA AEL - Fenerbahçe Limassol (CYP) 82 - 81 3000
15.11.2005 EuroCup 2006 Round 1 BC Kalev - Privatbank EKA AEL Tallinn (EST) 65 - 71 1500
23.11.2005 EuroCup 2006 Round 1 Privatbank EKA AEL - PAOK Limassol (CYP) 84 - 67 1500
14.11.2006 EuroCup 2007 Round 1 DTL EKA AEL - Amsterdam Astronauts Limassol (CYP) 82 - 49 1200
21.11.2006 EuroCup 2007 Round 1 DTL EKA AEL - Virtus Europonteggi Bologna Limassol (CYP) 88 - 83 3100
29.11.2006 EuroCup 2007 Round 1 DTL EKA AEL - Adecco ASVEL Villeurbanne Limassol (CYP) 84 - 58 3500
04.12.2006 EuroCup 2007 Round 1 Amsterdam Astronauts - DTL EKA AEL Amsterdam (NED) 79 - 95 350
16.01.2007 EuroCup 2007 Round 2 DTL EKA AEL - Liege Basket Limassol (CYP) 70 - 64 2500
23.01.2007 EuroCup 2007 Round 2 BC Siauliai - DTL EKA AEL Siauliai (LTU) 79 - 85 850
30.01.2007 EuroCup 2007 Round 2 DTL EKA AEL - Club Estudiantes Limassol (CYP) 63 - 62 3500
13.02.2007 EuroCup 2007 Round 2 Liege Basket - DTL EKA AEL Liege (BEL) 58 - 77 1000
20.02.2007 EuroCup 2007 Round 2 DTL EKA AEL - BC Siauliai Limassol (CYP) 94 - 85 2100
09.03.2007 EuroCup 2007 Quarter-Final DTL EKA AEL - Azovmash Mariupol Limassol (CYP) 85 - 79 3450
20.11.2007 EuroCup 2008 Elimination Round 2 BC Dnipro - Proteas EKA AEL Dnepropetrovsk (UKR) 53 - 64 5000
27.11.2007 EuroCup 2008 Elimination Round 2 Proteas EKA AEL – BC Dnipro Limassol (CYP) 104 - 69 600
19.12.2007 EuroCup 2008 Qualifying Round Proteas EKA AEL – KK Zagreb Limassol (CYP) 103 - 80 1100
15.01.2008 EuroCup 2008 Qualifying Round Proteas EKA AEL – Olympia Larissas Limassol (CYP) 91 - 71 800
22.01.2008 EuroCup 2008 Qualifying Round Spartak St. Petersburg - Proteas EKA AEL St. Petersburg (RUS) 77 - 81 800
29.01.2008 EuroCup 2008 Qualifying Round Proteas EKA AEL – Spartak St. Petersburg Limassol (CYP) 72 - 71 2500
19.02.2008 EuroCup 2008 Quarter Final Round Proteas EKA AEL – Khimik Limassol (CYP) 70 - 65 2000
26.02.2008 EuroCup 2008 Quarter Final Round Khimik - Proteas EKA AEL Yuzhny (UKR) 76 - 87 1700

Turning points in history

Year
1966: The Cyprus Basketball Association is formed with AEL Limassol among its founding members.
1974: AEL Limassol conquers their first basketball Championship.
1977: AEL Limassol become the first Cypriot basketball club to participate in a European competition.
1983: In an official basketball game for the championship, AEL shattered Ethnikos with 177-39 and creates a new Cyprus league record of better attack and bigger difference in a game. The record remains up to today.
1994: AEL Limassol are relegated to the 2nd division for the first time in their history.
2003: The basketball team of AEL writes the goldenest page in the history of Cypriot sports after it conquers the European Regional Challenge Cup, undefeatable. Few days later managed to crowned Cyprus champion and Cyprus cup after 15 years without any trophy.

Team records

Record For From - Until
Most Championships in Row 5 Peat (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Most Cups in Row 4 Years (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983)
Most Super Cups in Row 5 Years (2005, 2006, 2007,2008,2009)
Most Wins in a Row (European and Cyprus league)
Most Wins in a Row (Cyprus League)
Most Wins in a Row (European League) 10 Games 30.10.2002 - 13.02.2003
Most Home Wins in a Row (European and Cyprus league)
Most Home Wins in a Row (Cyprus league)
Most Home Wins in a Row at Nikos Solomonides (European league) 15 Games 01.02.2006–present

Accumulated historical results

Season Competition Place Games Win/Lose F/A
2009 FIBA EuroChallenge
2008 FIBA EuroCup 3rd 12 9/3 79.4/71.5
2007 FIBA EuroCup 5th 15 10/5 77.3/75.7
2006 FIBA EuroCup 12 5/7 78.8/83.4
2005 FIBA Europe League Men 14 8/6 70.9/70.6
2004 FIBA Europe League 14 7/7 70.1/72.6
2003 FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup (South Conference) Champion 10 10/0 85.6/72.7
2002 Korac Cup 8 2/6
2001 Korac Cup 2 0/2
2000 Korac Cup 2 0/2
1999 Korac Cup 2 0/2
1998 Korac Cup 6 1/5
1995 Korac Cup
1992 European Cup Radivoj Korac 2 0/2

EuroCup 2008 statistics

Name G Min 2P FG
M/A
2P FG
%
3P FG
M/A
3P FG
%
FreeThrows
M/A
FreeThrows
%
Reb
Off
Reb
Def
Reb
Tot
Assist PF TO Steels Blocks Pts Avg
M.Aleksic 10 351 49/81 60.5 6/21 28.6 63/86 73.3 16 57 73 44 30 33 16 2 179 17.9
D.Woodward 10 347 34/66 51.5 10/31 32.3 37/48 77.1 7 24 31 38 29 27 14 0 135 13.5
K.Souchu 10 284 22/39 56.4 18/49 36.7 12/15 80.0 3 19 22 5 17 12 16 1 110 11.0
R.Randle 10 214 35/76 46.1 1/4 25.0 21/32 65.6 20 26 46 8 19 12 12 0 94 9.4
M.Zianveni 6 145 17/35 48.6 1/8 12.5 18/23 78.3 12 23 35 1 16 10 7 2 55 9.2
B.Sundov 8 140 21/29 72.4 3/5 60.0 16/22 72.7 7 23 30 4 26 15 1 3 67 8.4
A.Buziane 3 63 3/6 50.0 3/5 60.0 4/6 66.7 0 4 4 4 10 3 4 0 19 6.3
V.Zavoruev 9 148 2/7 28.6 11/26 42.3 17/21 81.0 3 14 17 14 16 4 5 0 54 6.0
A.Cuic 8 95 10/22 45.5 4/10 40.0 8/11 72.7 10 8 18 1 20 7 3 1 40 5.0
O.Ilunga 7 91 3/6 50.0 4/10 40.0 8/10 80.0 0 8 8 3 9 1 4 0 26 3.7
Α.Λιάτσος 9 82 6/10 60.0 2/5 40.0 6/9 66.7 6 3 9 5 16 8 3 0 24 2.7
Γ.Παλάλας 2 10 1/1 100.0 1/1 100.0 0/0 0.0 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 5 2.5
Κ.Περεντός 4 25 3/3 100.0 1/1 100.0 0/0 0.0 2 2 4 0 4 1 1 0 9 2.3
A.Kuchinsky 1 7 1/2 50.0 0/0 0.0 0/0 0.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 2.0
TEAM 5 14 19 0 0 16
TOTAL 10 207/383 54.0 65/176 36.9 210/283 74.2 91 225 316 128 215 135 103 9 819
AVERAGE 21/38 7/18 21/28 9 23 32 13 22 14 10 1 82

External links

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