Ethniki alumni hoping to usher in new era for Greek basketball

Efthimios Rentzias is the latest Greek basketball veteran to declare he’ll seek election to the EOK board in the upcoming election as basketball in Greece approaches a new dawn.

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Veterans of Greek basketball are stepping-up to plot the course of the sport in Greece for generations to come. In what has become a trend in recent months, Efthimios Rentzias became the latest former player to declare that he will run in the upcoming elections for the EOK.

Rentzias, 44, started his professional career with PAOK but spent most of his playing days abroad in Spain, Turkey, and Italy in addition to a short one-year stint in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers. Plans to return to Greek basketball with PAOK in 2006 were derailed when Rentzias was forced to retire due to injury.

Now, some 14 years after calling time on his playing career, Rentzias is ready to return to the basketball scene in hopes of being voted in as a board member in the upcoming EOK elections.

Rentzias is the second high-profile former player to declare he’ll run in the next EOK election after Panagiotis Fasoulas previously announced his intent.

Fasoulas has served at three levels of public office between 1990 and 2011, and is reported to be in close contact with Rentzias

 A report from Sport24 also indicates that Fanis Christodoulou will also declare his intent to run in the next election, but his candidacy currently depends on what is decided by the Greek government.

The EOK elections were initially scheduled for later this year, but proposed changes to the rules surrounding candidate eligibility as well as the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics could push the elections to the summer of 2021.

Deputy Minister for Sports, Lefteris Avgenakis, is at the forefront of those proposed changes as Avgenakis looks to usher in a new era for both the EOK and its football counterpart, the EPO.

Avgenakis’ crusade has seemingly targeted current president of the EOK, Georgios Vassilakopoulos, who has served as president of the federation uncontested for the last ten years.

Promitheas owner, Evangelos Liolios, has declared that he plans to run for president of the EOK in the next election.

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