Apollo Amsterdam

Apollo Amsterdam is a Dutch basketball team based in Amsterdam. The club plays its games in the Promotiedivisie, the Dutch second-level league.

Apollo Amsterdam
Apollo Amsterdam logo
LeaguesPromotiedivisie
Founded2011 (2011)
HistoryBC Apollo
2011–2015
Apollo Amsterdam
2015–present
ArenaApollohal
Capacity1,500
LocationAmsterdam, Netherlands
Main sponsorPaul Meijering[1]
PresidentMark van Meggelen
Head coachWierd Goedee
2021–22 positionBNXT League, 19th of 21
Championships1 Promotiedivisie
Websitewww.apollobasketball.nl

The club was founded in 2011 and has played in the highest national level for 11 years, from 2012 to 2023. They qualified for the national playoffs four times. The amateur section of the club is known as BC Apollo.

Apollo Amsterdam is known for their focus on developing the Dutch basketball players and giving them growth perspective in a foreign player dominated league.[2]

History
Apollo playing its first home game ever in the Dutch Basketball League in October 2012
Apollo celebrating after winning the Promotiedivisie in 2012

The club was founded in 2011, as a result of a merger between BV Lely and Mosquitos, both clubs from Amsterdam. Its name is derived from its home venue the Apollohal. Apollo took over the license of the old ABC Amsterdam second team.[3] In the first season of the club, Apollo played as an amateur team in the Promotiedivisie. They immediately won the Dutch amateur championship after defeating CBV Binnenland in the league final.[4]

In 2012, Apollo club decided to enter the professional Dutch Basketball League (DBL) for the 2012–13 season.[5] In its first season, led by coach Tyrone Marioneaux and All-Star Aron Royé, Apollo finished in ninth place in the DBL.

In 2013–14, Apollo managed to reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The club lost in the quarterfinals to GasTerra Flames, 0–2.

During Apollo's most successful season since their establishment, the club had financial problems which made it close to withdrawing from the DBL. However, in August 2014 it was announced Apollo would continue playing in the DBL.[6]

In the 2015–16 season, Apollo made its second appearance in the DBL playoffs where it lost to Den Bosch 0–2 in the quarterfinals.

Apollo won its first playoff game in 2016, defeating ZZ Leiden in Game 1 of the quarterfinals. However, in a packed Apollohal, Leiden retrieved home advantage and went on to beat Apollo 1–2 and advance to the semifinals.

On 1 May 2020, Apollo announced it will not play in the 2020–21 DBL season because of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Apollo also announced Laki Lakner was replacing Patrick Faijdherbe as head coach.[7] Lakner resigned after three games,[8] and Edwin van der Hart took over for the remainder of the season. Apollo finished in ninth place for a second season in a row.

The Apollohal during a game in 2023

Since the 2021–22 season, Apollo plays in the BNXT League, in which the national leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands have been merged.[9] In June 2021, Wierd Goedee was signed as new head coach.[10]

In June 2023, following the 2022-23 season, Apollo was forced to withdraw from the BNXT League as it was unable to come up with the necessary budget for participation. The BNXT organisation required a minimum budget of €350,000 which Apollo was unable to bring together with its sponsorships.[11] Apollo entered the second-level Promotiedivisie for the 2023-24 season.

Honours
Winners (1): 2011–12

Players

Current roster
Further information: Apollo Amsterdam past rosters

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Apollo Amsterdam roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Age
G 0 Netherlands Abrams, Jaro 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 21 – (2002-03-20)20 March 2002
F 1 Netherlands Poels, Joost 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 20 – (2003-10-07)7 October 2003
PF 3 Netherlands Sikking, Jibbe 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 18 – (2004-12-25)25 December 2004
PG 6 Italy Bertotti, Jacopo 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 22 – (2001-01-08)8 January 2001
F 7 Netherlands Poels, Stef 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 22 – (2001-01-12)12 January 2001
PF 8 Lithuania Grigas, Saulius 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 20 – (2003-04-07)7 April 2003
F 9 Netherlands Kayhan, Job 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 22 – (2000-12-23)23 December 2000
PG 10 Lithuania Kumelis, Deividas 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 28 – (1995-04-06)6 April 1995
C 13 Netherlands Van't Hoff, Mees 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 22 – (2001-04-27)27 April 2001
C 22 Netherlands Runs, Matthias 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 31 – (1992-10-15)15 October 1992
SG 23 Netherlands Metz, Joris 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in)
SF 24 Netherlands Wip, Yamill 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 25 – (1997-11-30)30 November 1997
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Israel Liad Schneider
  • Netherlands Philip Sowers
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured
Updated: 10 October 2022

Depth chart
Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Bench 3
C Berend Weijs Matthias Runs
PF Sergio De Randamie Job Kayhan Stef Poels Denzel Ndongosi
SF Trevian Bell Tibor Taraš Benicio Leons
SG Justin Mitchell Lucas Faijdherbe Shamar Dormoy
PG Dexter Hope Jacopo Bertotti River Gori

Individual awards
DBL All-Defense Team
DBL Rookie of the Year
DBL blocks leader
DBL All-Rookie Team

Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

NCAA Division 1 players from academy

The youth academy of Apollo Amsterdam has developed the following players who have played in the NCAA Division I. Players in bold have played minutes for the senior team in the Dutch Basketball League or BNXT League.

Player Committed to First year
Shaquille Doorson Rutgers 2014
Jesse Edwards Syracause 2019
Kai Edwards Northern Colorado 2016
Iyen Enaruna Evansville 2020
Tristan Enaruna Kansas 2019
Malevy Leons Bradley 2021
Siem Uijtendaal Canisius 2020

Top scorers by seasons
Season Name PPG
2012–13Netherlands Aron Royé 16.3
2013–14Netherlands Aron Royé 13.2
2014–15Netherlands Dimeo van der Horst 12.8
2015–16Netherlands Aron Royé 15.6
2016–17Netherlands Dimeo van der Horst 16.0
  
Season Name PPG
2017–18Syria Micheal Madanly 16.1
2018–19Netherlands Dimeo van der Horst 15.6
2019–20United States Xavier Cannefax 21.9
2020–21Netherlands Berend Weijs 13.5
2021–22 Cameroon Roger Moute a Bidias 15.9

[12]

Individual awards
DBL Top Scorer
DBL Rookie of the Year
DBL All-Rookie Team

Season by season
Champions Runners-up National playoffs berth Promoted
Season Tier League Regular season National playoffs BNXT Playoffs Basketball Cup Head coach President
Finish Pld W L Win% Pld W L Result
Apollo Amsterdam
2011–12 2 Promotiedivisie 1st 26 21 5 .808 Won Final Four – 0 0 0 – Tyrone Marioneaux Menno Fluks
2012–13 1 DBL 9th 36 4 32 .111 – 1 0 1 Eightfinals
2013–14 1 DBL 8th 36 7 29 .000 Lost quarterfinals (GasTerra Flames), 0–2 1 0 1 Eightfinals Hakim Salem Menno Fluks / Ramon Siljade
2014–15 1 DBL 7th 28 5 23 .179 – 1 0 1 Eightfinals Jaanus Liivak Ramon Siljade
2015–16 1 DBL 5th 28 10 18 .357 Lost quarterfinals (Den Bosch), 0–2 3 1 2 Quarterfinalist Patrick Faijdherbe
2016–17 1 DBL 5th 28 9 19 .321 Lost quarterfinals (ZZ Leiden), 1–2 5 3 2 Semifinalist
2017–18 1 DBL 7th 32 9 23 .281 – 1 0 1 Eightfinals
2018–19 1 DBL 6th 34 10 24 .294 Lost quarterfinals (Den Bosch), 0–2 3 1 2 Quarterfinals
2019–20 1 DBL 9th 25[note 1] 4 19 .174 — 3 1 2 Quarterfinals
2020–21 1 DBL 9th 21 6 15 .286 – 1 0 1 First Round Edwin van der Hart
2021–22 1 BNXT League 19th 30 9 21 .300 – Lost first round (Okapi, 128–179) 1 0 1 Eightfinals Wierd Goedee Dilo Kruyswijk
2022–23 1 BNXT League 20th 28 2 26 .071 – Lost first round (Okapi, 161–188) 1 0 1 Eightfinals Mark van Meggelen
Total (12 seasons) 352 96 254 .274 4 appearances 2 appearances 21 6 15

List of head coaches

The following is a list of all the head coaches of Apollo since its establishment in 2011:

Period Coach
2011–2013Netherlands Tyrone Marioneaux
2013–2014Netherlands Hakim Salem
2014–2015Estonia Jaanus Liivak
2015–2020Netherlands Patrick Faijdherbe
2020–2021Croatia Laki Lakner
2021Netherlands Edwin van der Hart
2021–presentNetherlands Wierd Goedee

Notes
  1. The 2019–20 season was ended in March 2020 prematurely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References
  1. "Samenwerking Apollo Basketball". Paul Meijering metalen. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  2. "Doorontwikkeling Apollo Basketball". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  3. Eurobasket.com team profile
  4. "BC Apollo grijpt titel in mannen promotiedivisie". Basketball.nl. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  5. "Amsterdam terug in eredivisie". nos.nl. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  6. "BC Apollo Amsterdam blijft in de DBL". DBL. 8 August 2014.
  7. "DBL gaat verder met acht ploegen". Basketball League. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  8. "Basketballers Apollo komend seizoen niet op het hoogste niveau". Parool.nl. 1 May 2020.
  9. "Licenties BNXT League 2021-2022 toegekend". Basketball League (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  10. "Wierd Goedee hoofdcoach Apollo Amsterdam". Basketball League (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  11. "Basketballers Apollo Amsterdam trekken zich terug uit BNXT League". www.nhnieuws.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  12. "BC Apollo Amsterdam Stats - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
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