Ercan Başaran | From the Field

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by Adam Hirsch | November 11, 2011 · 3:08 pm

Professional Basketball in Cyprus

Omonia vs Karavnos featuring Jamal (American out of UC Berkeley) shooting the ball, Chan (Czech out of West Virginia) defending, and PPI-CY's Coordinator Athanasios getting ready to rebound

With the NBA lockout in its 134th day, many are fearing the pains of a winter without professional basketball. But in Cyprus at least, there is plenty of basketball to hold us over. In the Greek-Cypriot community there are 9 Division 1 basketball teams: APOEL, AEK, Achilleas, ETHA, Keravnos, Omonia, Apollon, AEL, and ENAD. Every season the 9 teams play each other twice, followed by playoffs where the champion automatically qualifies to compete in FIBA’s EuroChallenge competition where they will compete against the best teams of Europe, Russia and Turkey.

Professional basketball match between Gonyeli and Koop in the Turkish-Cypriot community

In the Turkish-Cypriot community there are also 9 teams: Gonyeli, Near East University, Eastern Mediterranean, Akdeniz, Kucuk Kaymakli, Soyer Sport, Koop, Karaoglanoglu, and Yeni Cami. But other than the number of teams, there is very little in common between the Greek-Cyprtiot and the Turkish-Cypriot basketball leagues. For the Turkish-Cypriot teams there is no opportunity to advance to play in the EuroChallenge, and the talent levels and team budgets are much lower. In the Greek-Cypriot community, teams have annual budgets of 120,000 t0 700,000 euro, while on the north the budgets are around 35,000 euro. For this reason every team in the Greek-Cypriot league is able to draw up to 3 American players (usually coming out of low end D1 colleges) and a host of other European professional players, while there are usually only 1 or 2 Americans and Europeans playing in the entire Turkish-Cypriot league.

PPI-CY's Coordinator Athanasios scoring a layup in Omonia's win over Apoel

One thing that makes professional basketball in Cyprus special is how it feels like a small family. At every game you see the same faces in the crowd, and the same coaches standing on the sidelines. And while players will switch jerseys from season to season, you can pretty much guess who the starting 5 will be year after year. And there are plenty of current and former PeacePlayer staff among the ranks. Former PPI-CY Coordinator Marios is now the head coach of ENAD, friend of the program Mihalis is assistant coach for Karavnos, PPI-CY coaches Antonia and Alexi play and coach for Achilleas, while current PPI-CY Coordinator Athanasios (aka T-Bone) plays for Omonia. Last season PPI-CY International Fellow Gunnar Hagstrom played in the Turkish-Cypriot league on the Lefkosia Devils with PPI-CY Board Member Ercan Basaran. I had the pleasure of watching them win their first 3 games before the team was disbanded due to lack of funds.

But one of the best memories from professional basketball in Cyprus was during my first few months on the island, when PPI-CY Board Member Orhun Mevlit, was head coach of Gonyeli. They were already in the second round of the playoffs when Orhun asked Gunnar and myself to join the team as his assistant coaches. We gladly accepted, and spent the next month sitting on the bench with the team, working with the players and coaches, as they made their way to the championship.

With many good relationships between PPI-CY and the professional basketball community in Cyprus, we see great opportunity for future partnerships such as inviting professional players to PPI-CY tournaments, holding professional coaches trainings, and inviting PPI-CY teams to attend professional games and even play during halftime. All of these ideas would be fun for our kids and a great opportunity to give put the spotlight on PeacePlayers’ mission of uniting the youth of Cyprus through sport.

Myself (in blue) with PPI-CY Board Member and Gonyeli Head Coach Orhun (3rd from left), and PPI-CY Fellow Gunnar (second from right) at the Gonyeli championship awards ceremony in 2011

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Filed under Cyprus, Global

Tagged as Achilleas, AEK, AEL, Akdeniz, and ENAD, and Yeni Cami., Antonia, APOEL, Apollon, Athanasios Souflias, Eastern Mediterranean, Ercan Başaran, ETHA, FIBA's EuroChallenge, Gonyeli, Gunnar Hagstrom, Karaoglanoglu, Keravnos, Koop, Kucuk Kaymakli, Near East University, Omonia, Orhun Mevlit, Soyer Sport

by roryleddyoneil | April 27, 2011 · 1:18 pm

From Cyprus to Northern Ireland… and back to Cyprus again

Reunited and it feels so good: Rory with former workmates Gunnar and Adam in Cyprus this past week.

PPI Fellow Rory O’Neil recently went back to PPI-CY for the first time since leaving last May. Here, he describes his how he spent his Easter.

This past week I had the opportunity to re-visit Cyprus during the Easter holidays. Having worked on the island for two years, I was very eager to re-visit the island to see some of my old friends, get my first sunburns of the year, play a little basketball, and of course…enjoy the Cypriot cuisine that most likely contributed to the 10+ pounds I gained during my employment with PPI-CY. (Peacebuilding alone can’t add that much weight can it?) I knew it was going to be a great trip when fifteen people joined me for dinner on my first night. Everyone from former teammates to PPI-CY staff , coaches, and board members came along. Not that it was ever in doubt, but Cypriot hospitality hadn’t changed one bit since I left.

Because of school exam schedules and the Easter holidays, I was not able to see any PPI-CY practices or events, but I did get a chance spend a lot of time with current and former PPI-CY coaches and staff. I was able to have a massive pre-Easter dinner at Bahar and Orhun Mevlit’s house along with Cafer Muhtaroglu and his family. PPI-CY board member Ercan Başaran organized a pick-up game with some of my former Kyrenia basketball teammates. And in between numerous cup of coffee and the many meals I inhaled, PPI Fellow Gunnar Hagstrom and I renewed our on-going 1-on-1 battle on the basketball court (sorry Gunnar, maybe next year). However, to be fair, Gunnar did beat me seven times in a row in backgammon.

Me with Marina's daughter, Urania. For the record, she is NOT crying in this picture.

However, the big event of my trip was celebrating the Easter Holiday. I spent the first part of the day along with Gunnar and fellow “Fellow” Adam Hirsch with PPI-CY Managing Director (and my former boss) Marina Vasilara and her family. One thing I always admired about Marina’s family is that when they would have a family BBQ they would have two grills going at once. One grill would usually be slow-cooking massive amounts of Souvla over a 2 hour period. While they would wait for the Souvla to cook, they would have a smaller grill preparing small items like ribs, chicken, liver, sausages, halloumi, and pitas, so they could eat while they waited for the main dish to be thoroughly cooked. I can remember attending several of her family BBQs when I would be completely stuffed before the actual main course hit the table!

In addition to my reunion with Cypriot cuisine, I was also looking forward to spending time with Marina and her family; especially her almost 2 year-year old daughter Urania who could barely walk and talk when I left in May, and who is now doing both of those with ease. A common misconception during my last few months with PPI-CY was that every time I would get close to Urania, she would burst into tears. While this was true in a few isolated incidences, it was not true this time around. I was insulted to hear that people had actually placed bets in favor of her crying the instant she saw me. Unbelievable. Later that evening Gunnar and I made our way through the windy roads of the Troodos mountains to attend PPI-CY Coach Antonis Tsolakis‘ family Easter celebration in Agros. Antonis’ sense of hospitality had also not changed as he treated Gunnar and I to large portions of food, cake, and refreshments upon our arrival (even after he “treated” us both to humiliating defeats in Ping-Pong). Suffice it to say, it was a very “fulfilling” day; emphasis on the “filling”.

A Cypriot BBQ: two grills at once. Here, Marina's father, Avivos, cooks on grill #2 while grill #1 slowly turns Souvla in the background.

I always considered the people I worked with in PPI-CY as friends first and colleagues second and that belief was upheld this past week. Cyprus will always hold a special place in my heart and not jokingly…in my stomach as well. I was privileged to be able to work there and really touched by the reception that was showered upon me when I left there in May 2010, and the warm reception I received this past week when I visited. It is a beautiful island not because of its picturesque beaches, delicious cuisine, and tropical climate, but because of the people who live there that make it the special place that it is. I can remember getting on the plane to leave Cyprus last year in May and feeling very optimistic for the future of PPI-CY and now having been back and seen the continued progress of the organization, I am even more optimistic. Thank you all for hosting me and for making my return-visit so special!