Katsikaris to remain in charge of Greece
ATHENS (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) - Fotis Katsikaris will resume his role at the helm of Greece next summer to steer the national team at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs)
ATHENS (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) - Fotis Katsikaris will resume his role at the helm of Greece next summer to steer the national team at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs), the Greek Federation (EOK) confirmed on Sunday.
The 48-year-old tactician will naturally also coach the Greeks at the Rio Olympics, in the event they earn a spot in August's huge event by virtue of clinching top spot in one of the three OQTs played in July.
The agreement between the two parties was finalised after EOK President and FIBA Europe President Emeritus George Vassilakopoulos met with Katsikaris on Saturday in Madrid.
"The scope of the meeting was to schedule procedures which will have to be in place in order for the national team to conduct an effective training camp in the short period of time available between the end of club season and until the Olympic Qualification Tournament tips off on 5 July," EOK announced in a brief statement.
"Further planning will depend on the results of the draw on 26 January, when the team will get to know its opponents as well as the host countries of the three tournaments. Regardless of the draw results however, a detailed plan to maintain contact with players who form the extended national team, whether they play in or out of Greece, has now been laid out."
Katsikaris has a 12-2 record after two major tournaments since being named Greece head coach in June 2014, although paradoxically the team did not come close to a podium finish on either occasion.
At the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, the Greeks cruised through the group stage but their unbeaten start came to an abrupt end in the Round of 16, as they were knocked out by eventual finalist Serbia.
At EuroBasket 2015, Greece welcomed back their big star Vassilis Spanoulis and marched undefeated until the Quarter-Finals in Lille, where they fell 73-71 to eventual champions Spain.
Moments after the Greek campaign had concluded with a 97-90 win over Latvia which sealed a fifth-place finish at EuroBasket 2015 for the Greeks, the 33-year-old Spanoulis announced his decision to retire from national team duty.
Katsikaris assumed the reins of Spanish side UCAM Murcia following EuroBasket 2015 but his contract with the ACB club runs until the end of the current season.
The contract duration enables him to coach Greece in the summer without violating the ACB rule which states that a coach cannot work simultaneously at both a Liga Endesa side and a national team.
FIBA