ATHENS (Greece) - The senior team, AEK BETSSON BC, is of course one of Greece's oldest and most established basketball clubs.

They won the Basketball Champions League in 2018, have eight Greek Championships and five Greek Cups to their name, plus two FIBA Saporta Cups, one Triple Crown, and a FIBA Intercontinental Cup decorating the trophy cabinet.

"We are very happy that the BCL has provided the opportunity for a lot of young athletes to compete at a high level." - George Arnaoutakis, Head of AEK  BC Academy

AEK BC Academy will enter the Youth Basketball Champions League for the first time this year but will be coming into the event looking to be competitive from the start and create stories of their own in the Youth BCL, like the senior team have done in the BCL.

"Our main goal is to give the opportunity to our young athletes to compete at a high level, We will fight in every game to create some good memories for the future," said the head of the academy, George Arnaoutakis.

"AEK’s youth program is getting back to a high level of competition and our presence in the Youth BCL means a lot for our academy’s future.

"In general, we are very happy that the BCL has provided the opportunity for a lot of young athletes to compete at a high level and we feel honored for the participation in the competition," he continued.

In the last 10 years, under the overall club stewardship of Makis Aggelopoulos, AEK's academy has gone from strength to strength.

Coaching legend Dragan Sakota oversaw the redevelopment of the program between 2015 and 2020 and emphasized the educational element of the program.

The goal was to establish a culture whereby athletes become better teammates and better students, as well as better basketball players.

The academy plays their games in the Ano Liosia Olympic Hall and set a target of creating a common playing style from the youngest group all the way up to the senior level. And, more importantly, a playing style in line with the first team's philosophy in order to facilitate more young prospects into the first team.

Players to Watch in the Youth BCL

Giannis Nikolaou | Date of Birth: January 5, 2007 | F

The key player is Giannis Nikolaou. He is a 2.01m, 17 year-old forward. He is a tall and physical player who works hard. The big man has a great touch and feel for the game.

Nikolaou can shoot, pass, and finish strong around the basket. He averages 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game for the academy.

Marios Marathonitis and Moysis Mitrelos have also been in the squad for the first team and already made their official debut. Keep your eyes also on guard Michail -aka Mike- Spanos and center Viktoras Chalidis.

Program Alumni

Dusan Sakota | Giannis Bourousis | Manos Chatzidakis | Dimitris Moraitis | Nikos Rogkavopoulos | George Tsalmpouris | Filippos Tigkas.

BCL champion Dusan Sakota and legend Giannis Bourousis are almost certainly the biggest names to come out of the AEK Academy but Nikos Rogkavopoulos and George Tsalmpouris are both fantastic success stories, plying their trade in the Spanish Liga Endesa with Baskonia and Surne Bilbao Basket, respectively.

As are Dimitris Moraitis, currently with Panathinaikos, and Manos Chatzidakis who's playing for the AEK BETSSON first team. Filippos Tigkas has also made an exciting start to life in Cyprus with Keravnos Strovolou.