History 1927 - Present Head coach Tolis Karnesis | Team colors Red and White Founded 1927 | |
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Arena Near East Indoor Arena
(capacity: 1,300) Location Kaisariani, Athens, Greece Championships 1 Greek Championship
(1936)
1 A2 Championship
(1998) Leagues Greek A2 Basket League, Greek Basketball Cup | ||
A.O. Near East B.C. is one of the oldest professional basketball clubs in Greece. The basketball club was founded in 1927. The team is located in Kaisariani, Greece, which is a suburb of the city of Athens, Greece. Near East's home arena, Near East Indoor Arena, is located only about 2 miles from the downtown center of Athens. It takes its name from the Near East Foundation.
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Early history
Near East B.C. was one of the teams that participated in the first Pan-Hellenic Basketball tournament, which took place in Thessaloniki, Greece. In 1936, Near East B.C. won its first official Greek League championship by defeating The University of Athens basketball team in Thessaloniki. To this day, this is still the only Greek National Championship the club has won. In 1937, Near East B.C. finished second in the Greek Championship as The University of Athens basketball club defeated them in the Championship's final.
Recent history
In more recent times, the Near East basketball team struggled to hold on to its position in the top league in Greece's first division the Greek A1 League. In 1998, the team won the top Greek pro league's second division championship the Greek A2 League. The team participated in the FIBA Korać Cup in the years 2000 and 2001. In 2002, the team competed in the A1 first division for the last time in recent years.