2000s Decade "The Little Team That Could"
The year 2001 was the breakthrough year for Maroussi. Coming out of the blue, the team not only participated in the final-four of the European Saporta Cup, but also won its first European trophy, an underdog triumph that made heads turn.
After that, the team was transformed. With the Greek National Team's head coach, Greek basketball legend Panagiotis Giannakis (coach of the 2005 FIBA European Champions and 2006 World Championship runner-ups) at the head of the bench, and with the young Greek national team star Vassilis Spanoulis at point guard, the team started dominating the Greek Championship, earning respect within Greek basketball.
The team made it to the championship final of the 2003-04 season in the Greek A1 League, losing to Panathinaikos Athens. Maroussi also finished in second place in the EuroCup Championship in 2004, losing to UNICS Kazan in the championship game. In those years, the team participated in 2 European Final Fours in the EuroCup. The team made it to the finals game of the Greek Cup in 2002, losing the championship game to the Euroleague powerhouse Olympiacos Piraeus. In the 2004-05 season, Maroussi finished second in the Greek League in the regular season, behind only Panathinaikos Athens. In 2006, Maroussi again made it to the finals game of the Greek Cup. This time losing to Euroleague powerhouse Panathinaikos Athens in the championship game.
Read more about this topic: Maroussi B.C.
Famous quotes containing the words decade and/or team:
“The 1990s, after the reign of terror of academic vandalism, will be a decade of restoration: restoration of meaning, value, beauty, pleasure, and emotion to art and restoration of art to its audience.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“Once a word is spoken, a team of four horse cannot retake it.”
—Chinese proverb.