Peristeri B.C., or Peristeri Athens B.C. (
Greek: Περιστερίου K.A.E.) is a Greek professional
basketball club that is located in
Peristeri,
Greece, which is both a city and a suburb in the western part of the
Athens agglomeration. The club's full name is Gymnastikos Syllogos Peristeriou K.A.E. (Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Περιστερίου K.A.E.). It is a part of the
G.S. Peristeri (Γ.Σ. Περιστερίου)
multi-sports club. The club was founded on October 22, 1971.
The club's emblem is the
dove symbol, and the club's team colors are yellow and blue. For the 2023–24 season, the team competes in the
Greek Basket League, which is the
top-tier level league in Greece, as well as in the European-wide secondary level competition, the
FIBA Basketball Champions League (BCL).
History
Early years and rise of the club
The club began play in the 1971–72 season. In the 1977–78 season, Peristeri Athens won the
third level championship of Greek pro basketball, under head coach
Faidon Matthaiou. In the 1982–83 season, under head coach Thanasis Christoforou, Peristeri won the second level championship of Greek pro basketball, which was at that time, the
Greek B League. In the following 1983–84 season, Peristeri played games for the first time, in the top-tier level
Greek Basket League. Peristeri won the
Greek 2nd Division championship again, in the 1988–89 season.
Following the
2003–04 Greek Basket League season, Peristeri was
downgraded to the second division
Greek A2 League for the 2004–05 season, due to great financial troubles within the
Peristeri Sports Club. The club also competed in the Greek 2nd Division in the 2005–06 season. The club was then
relegated down to the
Greek 3rd Division, for the 2006–07 season. After winning the Greek 3rd Division championship, in the 2006–07 season, Peristeri returned to the Greek 2nd Division, for the 2007–08 season. Peristeri then won the Greek 2nd Division championship, in the 2008–09 season.
Peristeri then competed in the top-tier level
Greek 1st Division, in the
2009–10,
2010–11,
2011–12, and
2012–13 seasons. After the 2012–13 Greek Basket League season, Peristeri was again relegated down to the second-tier level Greek A2 League. However, due to economic issues, the club did not take part in the A2 League in the following season, and instead competed in the third-tier level Greek B League, during the 2013–14 season.[1]
Peristeri managed to win the 2014–15 edition of the Greek 2nd-tier level ESKA Cup competition. While in that same 2014–15 season, Peristeri finished in fourth place, in the First Group of the third-tier level Greek B League, and thus did not earn a direct league
promotion. Nevertheless, due to the withdrawal of
Panionios Athens from the second-tier level Greek A2 League, Peristeri was then promoted back up to the A2 League, as they replaced Panionios in the competition, for the
2015–16 season.[2] However, following that season, the club was relegated back down to the Greek 3rd Division, for the 2016–17 season.
Return to European-wide competitions
Peristeri won the
Greek 3rd Division in the 2016–17 season. Then, in the following
2017–18 season, Peristeri won its third
Greek 2nd Division championship. The team broke the league's win–loss record during that season, and finished with an overall record of 29 wins and just 1 loss.[3] Thus, the club was
promoted up to the
top-tier level
Greek Basket League, for the
2018–19 season. The return arrival of head coach
Argyris Pedoulakis proved to be a key factor for the team. With Pedoulakis coaching, and with a core of quality players, Peristeri finished second in the regular season, and in fourth place overall at the end of the league's playoffs, which thus secured the team's return to European-wide competitions.
Peristeri were the finalists of the
2020 edition of the
Greek Super Cup competition, after they defeated the Greek
EuroLeague giants
Panathinaikos Athens, by a score of 90–82 in the semifinals. They lost to
Promitheas Patras, by a score of 82–74 in the finals. Peristeri's
2020–21 Greek Basket League season wasn't as successful as the previous one, as they finished in sixth place in the league. In European-wide play, they also competed in the
2020–21 FIBA Champions League season. During that season, the team used three different
head coaches. The team also struggled to develop proper player chemistry throughout the duration of the season. Ultimately, Peristeri was unable to match their high points of the previous two seasons.
Under head coach
Milan Tomić, Peristeri finished the
2021–22 Greek Basket League season in 8th place. While in Pan-European competition, they competed in the European-wide fourth-tier level
FIBA Europe Cup competition's
2021–22 season. In August 2022, the team was given the new sponsorship name of Peristeri B.C. Athens Bwin, after the club secured a naming rights deal with
Bwin, for the purposes of increasing the team's budget, as part of an overall effort by the club to position itself in a higher echelon within the Greek Basket League.
From the 1991–92 season, to the 2003–04 season, Peristeri Athens had an overall win/loss record of: 67 wins and 58 losses, plus 1 tie, in a total of 126 games played in all of their European-wide professional club basketball competitions.