| PAYABL EKA AEL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Nickname | Η Βασίλισσα (The Queen) Λέοντες (Lions) | ||
| Leagues | Cyprus Basket League Cyprus Basket Cup | ||
| Founded | 1967 | ||
| Arena | Nicos Solomonides Arena | ||
| Capacity | 2,500 | ||
| Location | Limassol, Cyprus | ||
| Team colors | Yellow, Blue | ||
| Main sponsor | Payabl. EKA | ||
| President | Michael Loizides | ||
| General manager | Stavros Elliniadis | ||
| Head coach | Kalia Papadopoulou | ||
| Team captain | Marios Moniatis | ||
| Championships | 1 FIBA Regional Challenge 13 Cypriot Championships 9 Cypriot Cups 8 Super Cups | ||
| Retired numbers | 1 (15) | ||
| Website | https://ael-bc.com | ||
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| Sports departments of AEL Limassol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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AEL Limassol Basketball Club (Greek: Αθλητική Ένωση Λεμεσού, romanized: Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou, lit. 'Athletic Union of Limassol'), also known as PAYABL EKA AEL for sponsorship reasons and commonly referred to as AEL, is the basketball team of the AEL multi-sport club, based in Limassol, Cyprus. Nicknamed "the Queen" of Cypriot Basketball, AEL is a founding member of the Cyprus Basketball Federation and in the years since, the club has established itself as one of the most successful basketball teams in Cyprus.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Throughout its history, the club has experienced two separate periods of near-total domestic dominance, which are generally referred to as the 'two golden ages'. The first golden age refers to the period lasting from 1980 until 1989, during which, under the leadership of player–coach Giorgos Thyrotos, the club won 12 domestic trophies. The second golden age (2002–2010) is widely considered to have been the most successful period in the club's history,[1][3][5][6] as the club became the only sports club from Cyprus to have won a European trophy, having won the FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup in 2003. During this period, the club also set multiple Cypriot basketball records for the number of National Championships and Super Cups won in a row, and for the number of consecutive home-court victories achieved in EuroChallenge matches (25 in total).[1][4][5][6][7][8] Overall, the club has participated in 55 competitive finals both domestically and internationally, from which it has won a total of 37 major trophies, consisting of 13 Basket League titles, 9 Cypriot Cups, 8 Super Cups, 1 FIBA Europe Challenge Cup, 4 Division B titles and 2 Division B Cups.[4][2]
From the 2003–04 season until the 2009–10 season, AEL managed to advance to at least the knockout phase of the FIBA EuroChallenge in each season, with the 2008 and 2009 seasons being of particular note, as the club qualified for the Final Four phase of the tournament, finishing in 3rd and 4th place respectively.[1][4][5][6][7][8] During these successful campaigns, AEL also managed to defeat several well-established European sides such as, Fenerbahçe, Virtus Bologna, ASVEL, PAOK BC, Real Betis, Bandırma B.İ.K., BC Spartak Saint Petersburg, PBC Lokomotiv Kuban, Paris Basket Racing, PBC Ural Great, Azovmash Mariupol, G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki, Dexia Mons-Hainaut, BC Khimik, Liege Basket and CB Estudiantes.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]
Certain notable players that once played for the club include Georgios Thyrotos, Duane Woodward, Milutin Aleksić, Frankie King, Giorgos Palalas, Haris Mujezinović, Remon van de Hare, Bruno Šundov, JamesOn Curry, Kenny Gabriel, Karim Souchu, LaVell Blanchard, Goran Nikolić, Michael Antonio "Mike" King, Bryan Bracey, Michael McDonald, Michalis Kounounis, Ilian Evtimov, Goran Jeretin, Vassil Evtimov, Kęstutis Šeštokas, Giannis Giannoulis and Jerai Grant.
- ^ a b c d "Εκτός πρωταθλήματος η ΑΕ Λεμεσού". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- ^ a b "ΚΑΛΑΘΟΣΦΑΙΡΑ ΑΝΔΡΩΝ". ΑΕΛ | ΑΘΛΗΤΙΚΗ ΕΝΩΣΗ ΛΕΜΕΣΟΥ. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ a b Cyprus Associated Press (Greek: Ένωση Αθλητικογράφων Κύπρου - E.A.K.). "The Greatest in Cypriot Athletics" (PDF). p. 12.
- ^ a b c d "ΑΕΛ: Η απαρχή μιας ιστορίας και το ρεκόρ που αναζητά… διάδοχο | Goal News". 4 February 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Standings | FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup for Men (2003)". FIBA Europe. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
- ^ a b c d "FIBA EuroCup Challenge: All-Time Winners". www.linguasport.com. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
:27was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "🏀 Να ποιο ήταν το πιο συμβολικό σου παιχνίδι κ. Mάικ! - BasketBall Stories" (in Greek). 24 June 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ FIBA Europe. "Proteas Lower the Boom on Dexia".
- ^ FIBA Europe. "King Rules As Lemesos Edge Fenerbahce".
- ^ FIBA Europe. "LEMESOS WIN FOURTH STRAIGHT TO MOVE INTO FIRST PLACE".
- ^ FIBA Europe. "Lemesos Upset PAOK".
- ^ FIBA Europe. "Lemesos Roll To Big Win Against Amsterdam".
- ^ FIBA Europe. "Lemesos Out-Muscle Azovmash To Set Up Decider".
- ^ FIBA Europe. "Lemesos Always In Control Against Liege".
- ^ FIBA Europe. "Cypriots Defeat Eurocup Favourites Virtus".