Panellinios B.C.

Panellinios has been the top-tier level Greek League's champion 6 times, in the years 1929, 1939, 1940, 1953, 1955, and 1957. In the club's early years, it featured the player Missas Pantazopoulos. The club would have likely won several more Greek championships during the 1940s, but could not because the league was temporarily disbanded because of World War II. In the early 1950s era, the team was called "The Golden Five" ("Chrysi Pentada" in Greek), or "The Fabulous Five".[1] "The Golden Five" consisted of Themis Cholevas (PG), Dinos Papadimas (SG), Mimis Stefanidis (SF), Panos Manias (PF), and Aristeidis Roubanis (C).[2] "The Golden Five" dominated not only Greek club basketball, but European club basketball in general. The Panellinios team also headlined the Greek 1952 Summer Olympics basketball team. Although the EuroLeague, then known as the FIBA European Champions Cup, was not formed until the 1958 season, it is widely believed that had it been formed earlier, that Panellinios would have won several EuroLeague championships, as many considered Panellinios to be the best club team in Europe during the early-to-mid 1950s. In that era, the head coach of the team was Nikos Nissiotis.

During that era, Panellinios took part in the biggest international club tournaments in Europe, the predecessor tournaments of the EuroLeague, that were then held instead of the EuroLeague tournament. The club advanced to the final of the 1954 San Remo Tournament, which they lost 81–74 to the Italian League club Olimpia Milano. Panellinios then won the 1955 Brussels Tournament, by defeating the Yugoslav League club Red Star Belgrade in the final, by a score of 91–67. Panellinios also won the 1956 San Remo Tournament, by defeating the Italian League club Virtus Bologna, by a score of 67–37.

In the inaugural 1958 season, the European 1st-tier level European Champions Cup (now known as the EuroLeague) was formed. By that time, the team was coming to the end of The Golden Five era, as only 2 players of The Golden Five remained on the team. The club was eliminated from the competition, after losing its series against Steaua SA Bucarest 2 games to 0, by scores of 63–60 and 75–72. During that era, the team also featured the great scorer Antonis Christeas and Georgios Moschos.

The team stayed in the top Greek basketball division for 23 straight years, starting in 1963, when the league was re-formed into a new format. The club finished third in the top Greek League in both 1970 and 1978. During this era, it was the legendary Greek player Vassilis Goumas, that was the leader of the team. In the 1970–71 season, Panellinios player Paraskevas Tsantalis, scored 73 points in a Greek Basket league game against Panionios.

The club also finished as the runner-up in the Greek Cup in 1987. Panellinios also participated in the European 2nd-tier level FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup (Saporta Cup), and in the European 3rd-tier level FIBA Korać Cup competition, several times during the 1970s and 1980s.

The club struggled in the 1990s, and was mired in the third and fourth divisions of the Greek lower leagues. New management came to the organization in 1999, when Minos Kyriakou took over the club, and the club would eventually again begin to establish itself as a strong presence in Greek basketball. In 2004, Panellinios returned to the top-level Greek League, after earning a league promotion, led by Marijan Kraljević and the Soulis brothers.

In 2006, the team advanced to the playoff round of the Greek League, led by Dimitrios Tsaldaris, Damir Mulaomerović and Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, and finished 6th in the league, after losing in the playoffs to Aris. In 2007, the club finished in 5th place in the league, with players such as Mamadou N'Diaye, Michalis Pelekanos, Gary Trent, and Anthony Goldwire. The team lost to Panionios in the playoffs, but in finishing 5th in the Greek League, qualified for the new European 2nd-tier level EuroCup competition, for the first time in club history.

In 2010, the club moved from Athens, where it had been based for 81 years, to the city of Lamia.[3] In March 2010, Minos Kyriakou, withdrew from the club's ownership position.[4] In 2011, the club moved back to Athens.

In the 2011–12 season, the Greek Professional Sports Committee stripped Panellinios of its professional licence, because the club faced economic problems. In addition, the club wasn't accepted by the lower tiers of the Greek basketball league system, and thus didn't play in any league during that season.[5][6] The next season (2012–13), Panellinios played in the A ESKA Category (the First Athenian Regional Division).[7] But the team's presence in the league wasn't successful. It finished in last place, and was relegated to the B ESKA Category.

• European International Club Tournament

Champions (2): 1955 Brussels Tournament, 1956 San Remo Tournament

Runners-up (1): 1954 San Remo Tournament

• EuroCup

Final Four (1): 2009–10

• Greek League

Champions (6): 1928–29, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1956–57

Runners-up (4): 1934–35, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1953–54

• Greek Cup

Runners-up (1): 1986–87

• Greek League A2

Champions (2): 1986–87, 2003–04

• Greek League C

Champions (1): 1998–99