Basketball in Athens
Hello
Apologies for my ignorance regarding: the above (I have only experience of greek basketball via Eurosport and its reputation as one of the best leagues in the world). I am thinking of visiting Athens in the first weekend of February, and would definitely like to take in a game if any of the city's teams are playing during my visit. I am having some trouble finding access to information regarding fixtures and or tickets in English (which is perfectly reasonable given the location and language of the clubs involved).
Has anyone else previously been to a game in Athens/does anyone have any advice re teams based in Athens, places to book tickets, find fixtures etc? Anything else I should know? I presume it is like football elsewhere in Europe in terms of atmosphere and that you will be ok as a foreigner as long as you are polite and try not to stand out.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Many thanks.
Hello Theskyisalandfil,
The Greek League used to be one of the best in the world, but not anymore.
It just has two of the best 4-5 teams in Europe. Last year Marousi and Panelinios were very good, but not this year.
Within the next 2-3 years the best teams of the Greek league will participate in a ''Mediterranean League'' or something similar... as it seems it is going to happen soon.
The main problem of the Greek league is that the two Athens giants (Olympiakos & Panathinaikos) are winning most of their games with an average of +20 points... leniently. Some games are like practice for them, which was not the case even 5 years before.
There is no real competition for them and especially this year the only question is who is going to finish first & get the home advantage before the play-off finals.
Most of the rest 12 teams are in serious trouble, both in terms of competitive rosters and financial security (even to pay salaries).
If you visit Athens to attend a basketball game you will definately find tickets at the sport's hall entrance, unless it is a derby or a very important game.
According to the program (there is a strike now, so nobody knows) the first week of February there are 5 games in Athens:
AEK - PAOK
Panionios - Panellinios
Marousi - Kavala
Panathinaikos - Kolossos
Ikaros - Olympiakos
I would suggest one of the first 2 games. AEK - PAOK is a derby, even if AEK is not very strong. Also Panionios vs Panellinios seems an interesting clash, both teams are competitive every year and with decent rosters.
The only thing you should avoid is supporting passionately the visitors
and watch the game a bit further from the home team ultras, you will not see many things from there.
Not a problem really... normally basketball games in Greece attract families & kids, no crazy stuff there.
Hope it helped...
Hi!! I think it will be a great experience for you to watch a basketball game in Athens! I advise you to attend a Euroleague game of Panathinaikos or Olympiakos. I'm a great fan of Panathinaikos and I have been to many games in OAKA (name of the court, located to Maroussi, Athens). The atmosphere is amazing, especially when Panathinaikos plays against european teams. The stadium gets totally filled (around 18.000 seats-it's the biggest in Europe) and the fans never stop singing! I believe you will definately find tickets ouside the stadium before a game, as long as you arrive around 45 minutes earlier. The web site of Panathinaikos: www.paobc.gr (you will find an english version there and you will get informed about the match program of the team!). If you need any other information, I will be glad to help!!Originally Posted by Theskyisalandfil
Since you re going to Greece it´s best to pick up a game of high level basketball. What to do? Look at the Euroleague schedule on the Euroleague site and find out which one of the two giants (Panathinaikos or Olympiakos) plays a Euroleague game at home. Then simply go to the arena half an hour before the game starts, buy the ticket and enjoy.
Both arenas are easily accessible by using the subway.
Good thing about february is that the Euroleague will be in the top 16 fase and highly competitive.
PAO EUROPEAN CHAMPION 1996 - 2000 - 2002 - 2007 - 2009 - 2011
Man, if only you could have watched the derby match between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos (You would have gotten to see so much more than just great level of basketball. It's like the total entertainment package)
Many thanks
Hi
Thanks so much for the advice. I had some familiarity with Greek basketball as a country where the sport is well supported through it being a place some of my national team players have played (Bucknall, Henlen, Betts etc). I also watched a few greek league games on Eurosport last season and am used to seeing greek teams in ULEB/Eurocup in recent years, but that was where my knowledge ends so it is really nice to get some more information re the league and its make up and the atmosphere at games.
The team I support and watch most weeks over here is around a good NCAA II standard so whichever match I see in Greece(A1 or Euroleague) will be a higher standard. It's kind of the choice between seeing manchester united or a more normal game over here both of which have their merits. I had a look at the link to Panathinaikos and was as impressed as I expected. I get the impression that it is more normal to buy tickets from the arena than the internet (I cant find a ticketmaster type site). Obviously I appreciate that things are in flux at the moment due to the strike.
Regards.
Pre-trip thoughts
Hi
I posted on this a while ago and was very appreciative of the help and advice I received from you all. We travel to Athens next week flying in Feb 3rd and out Feb 8th. We still hope to see a game while we are there. Since we have no no local allegiance (and no matter what you say about A1 at present I think it will still be a higher standard than the BBL in England), just being able to see a game in Athens will be great for us.
We have no car during our stay, so a game which we can 1) reach by public transport and 2) are likely to be able to get tickets for really appeals. It seems like Maroussi v Kavala is a good bet since the arena is accessible via the Metro and I guess it is a very normal fixture. It seems like their arena is 1300 or so capacity. Is it better to arrive early to get tickets? Are there any other games between 3/2 /2011and 7/2/2011 that we could access from the city centre via public transport? It seems like all the games are on 5/2, and I noticed Pana now no longer plays on that day because of the Eurocup.
If any of you have any recommendations, advice or suggestions, they will be most welcome.
Regards.
Tom
Hi Tom,
there is no game scheduled between Maroussi and Kavala next weekend. Where did you find that information?
Maroussi will play on the road vs. Ikaros Kallithea, while Kavala will face Kolossos at Rhodes at the same time.
There are still enough games to watch at Athens / Piraeus during that weekend though.
First one is the game between Olympiakos and Panionios on February 5th, 17:00 local time, at the SEF (Peace and Friendship). Just take the Tram (line 4, Aristotelis) from Syntagma square, with the destination SEF, it will drop you off right in front of the arena. You can also take the Metro (Ilektriko) line 1 (green) from the centre to Piraeus, disembark at "Faliro" station, it's only a very short walk to the SEF from the metro station.
Ilysiakos - Iraklis and Ikaros Kallithea - Maroussi will be played at the same time, both arenas are accessible starting from the city centre as well, especially EAK Glyfada, where Ikaros hosts its games. If you decide not to watch the Olympiakos game on Saturday just drop a note here, and I'll tell you how to get there.
On Sunday (February 6th, 17:00 local time) there's the game between Peristeri and Panathinaikos at the "Andreas Papandreou" Indoor Arena.
To get there take the Metro line 2 (red) with the destination "Agios Antonios", disembark at the final destination and either walk, using this map (it's a bit of a walk, but doable - I marked the arena with a red cross and the metro station with a red circle)...
... or, if you don't want to walk, you can take the bus line 821, embarking at the metro station of Agios Antonios. The bus stops right in front of the Arena, the station name is "Gipedo" (Arena). If you take the bus, ask the bus driver to notify you when the bus reaches the station, so you won't miss it...
Hope that I could help, feel free to ask, if you've got more questions.
Many Thanks
Hi
Thank you so much to Trifilli for getting back to me, and to the other user (I respect your privacy so wont name you here) who PM'd me- unfortunately I dont have enough posts to reply in PM. Are there any places (booking agencies centrally?) we can buy tickets in advance or is it all on the door? If so, what time do the booking offices open? Also, how are prices? Is it realistic to expect to pay English football prices (maybe 25-60 Euros per ticket for normal seats)?
We are in central Athens, and thanks to the directions which you have kindly provided, we are ok to get there. I think we will probably catch the Olympiacos-Panionios and Peristeri-Panathanaikos games as they are very famous clubs (I know this can be good and bad if you are from the same country...) and we are just happy to be able to see some A1. Growing up it was a league where British players who were better than BBL got a chance (Bucknall especially).
Thanks a lot.
Tom
...
by the way... for my post with the wrong fixtures I think I must have found some earlier, pre-strike fixtures or have been very much mistaken. Thanks for making things clear.
Hi Tom, you're welcome.
You usually can buy the tickets a 2-3 days before the gameday at ticket boxes around the arena. The tickets for next week have not been announced yet by Olympiakos / Peristeri though.
You won't have any troubles finding tickets on door though, at least for the Olympiakos - Panionios match, even until a few minutes before the jumpball. Ticket prices for that game should be between 10 and 30 Euro.
Ticket counters should open around 3 hours before the beginning of the game... but there's absolutely no need to be at the SEF that early. Arriving at the SEF 20-30 minutes before the jumpball should be more than enough.
Peristeri is a bit more tricky, make sure not to arrive there last minute, as "Andreas Papandreou" only has a capacity of 3000. Usually it's not sold out, but against PAO you never know. But if you get there about 60 minutes before the game starts, you should have no troubles finding tickets.
The tickets at Peristeri are not expensive, but they usually charge a bit more for games against the "big" teams, especially if you're not a local. Expect something around 25 Euro.
Just one more advise: don't wear green or Panathinaikos fanwear that day. Police may not let you enter the arena and you don't want to get into fan rivalries.
Yes, I think they changed the schedule a few weeks ago, that's where the mistake might be coming from.by the way... for my post with the wrong fixtures I think I must have found some earlier, pre-strike fixtures or have been very much mistaken
Thanks again
That sounds sensible re: rivalries. I am used to football over here so I wouldnt wear team colours at a game, especially abroad. I usually pay about 22 euros to watch football (Sheffield Wednesday-League 1) and 8 euros to watch basketball (Sheffield Sharks- BBL) over here, so those kind of prices seem reasonable given the standard. Looking forward to it.
Yeah, I think that's comparable, won't be something new to you since you're going to football matches in the UK. But the Ultras are only one reason.
The difference in Greece is that officially fans from the visiting team are not allowed in away games, which means that the guest club does not get a ticket contingent for distribution among its fans. Usually fans try to get to the games on their own anyways, especially fans of the big clubs, but sometimes Police will not allow the entrance of guest fans, because of security reasons. So that's why you're better off not wearing team colours, that way you'll have no problem getting into the arena.
Thanks...
Hi
We made it to both games over the weekend. Olympiakos Panionios was impressive from both teams (particularly the hosts). Great ball movement, and a good scoring spread. Peristeri Pana was a really good experience too. There were a few hundred away fans there, and a good atmosphere. Obviously the big two are at a higher level (I spent a year watching a lot of hoops while living in the USA and they seem to be at a par with the bottom end of the NBA (I'm a clippers fan) than the rest (the other teams seemed to be NBDL- decent Western European pro-leagues type standard), there was some good stuff from all the teams I watched.
Thanks again to all for your advice and help.
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