Sport Basketball CEO Andreas Miaoulis Country Greece | Founded 1986 No. of teams 4 Continent Worldwide Competition | |
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The Acropolis International Basketball Tournament (also known as the Acropolis of Athens Basketball Tournament and the Acropolis Basketball Cup) (Greek: Τουρνουά Ακρόπολις) is an international basketball competition that is played between national teams, which has been held almost every year since 1986, and takes place in Athens, Greece, during the summer. It takes place before the big official FIBA tournaments like the EuroBasket, the FIBA World Cup, and the Summer Olympic Games. The tournament is named after the world-famous Acropolis of Athens. The competition is played under FIBA rules.
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The tournament is organized by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, and it is sponsored by Eurobank. It is one of the best-known non-FIBA organized international friendly basketball competitions that is competed between national teams.
History
The tournament's host team, the senior men's Greek National Basketball Team, has won the tournament 17 times so far. In 1991, the Hellenic Basketball Federation and FIBA Europe, joined together to hold the special edition 1991 FIBA Centennial Jubilee Tournament, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the sport of basketball. The Centennial Jubilee Tournament is not counted with the other Acropolis Tournaments, because it was not solely organized by the Hellenic Basketball Federation.
To date, there have been 27 official Acropolis Tournaments that have been organized by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, plus the unofficial special edition 1991 FIBA Centennial Jubilee Tournament. The Greek national team did not host the 2012 Acropolis Tournament, because it participated in the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and failed to qualify for the Olympics that year. There was also no Acropolis Tournament in 2014.
FIBA Centennial Jubilee Tournament
The 1991 FIBA Centennial Jubilee Tournament was the special edition tournament that was organized jointly by FIBA Europe and the Hellenic Basketball Federation to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the sport of basketball. It is not counted officially with the other 27 Acropolis International Tournaments because it was not solely organized by the Hellenic Basketball Federation. It was contested by France, Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia, Spain, and the Soviet Union.