Iraklio OAA Ηράκλειο ΟΑΑ |
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Leagues | Greek A2 Basket League | ||
Founded | 1968 | ||
History | 1968–present | ||
Arena | Heraklion Indoor Sports Arena | ||
Capacity | 5,222 | ||
Location | Heraklion, Crete, Greece | ||
Team colors | Blue and White |
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President | Michalis Delakis | ||
Head coach | Giannis Viskadourakis | ||
Championships |
1 Greek A2 Championship 1 Greek B Championship 1 Greek C Championship 4 Cretan Championships |
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Website | irakliooaa.gr | ||
Uniforms | |||
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Iraklio OAA B.C. (Greek: Ηράκλειο OAA KAE), also known simply as Iraklio, or Heraklion, is a Greek professional basketball club that is based in the city of Heraklion, on the island of Crete, in Greece. It is a department of the Heraklion Tennis and Team Sports Club (Greek: Όμιλος Αντισφαιρίσεως και Αθλοπαιδιών - OAA - «Ηράκλειο»), a multi-sport club established in Heraklion in 1928. The club's basketball department was founded in 1968, and currently competes in the Greek A2 Basketball League, hosting its home games at the Heraklion Indoor Sports Arena, a multi-purpose indoor arena with a capacity of 5,222 spectators. Irakleio is considered the most successful basketball club in Heraklion, being the sole club to have represented the city in the top-tier Greek Basket League, as well as the most successful club on the on the island of Crete, at least until the rise of the Rethymno Cretan Kings in the early 2010s. Iraklio OAA further administers competitive departments for tennis, table tennis and chess.
Iraklio OAA was established in 1928, primarily operating as a tennis club. In 1968, under president Giorgos Deligiannakis, the club decided to expand its activities thus founding team sports departments for basketball and volleyball, reinstating its defunct table tennis department, as well as establishing competitive chess and bridge departments. The first coach of the basketball department was Michalis Dardantakis, who was replaced by Kostas Rigas shortly thereafter.