Asociación Deportiva Atenas, known simply as Atenas or Atenas de Córdoba, is a

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

based in Córdoba,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It was founded in 1938, and is mostly known for its achievements in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. The club is the winningest team of Argentina holding 20 titles. Club's home arena is Polideportivo Carlos Cerutti, while some high attendance games are held at the

Orfeo Superdomo The Orfeo Superdome is an indoor sports arena that is located in Córdoba, Argentina. The arena is primarily used to host basketball, volleyball, boxing, and tennis events. It's also the host venue for most concerts in Córdoba. The seating cap ...

. Apart from basketball, other sports practised at Atenas are

rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

History

The club was founded on March 7, 1938, mainly by former members of the ''New Tennis Club''. Before the creation of the

Liga Nacional de Básquet The Liga Nacional de Básquet (abbreviated LNB, and literally in English, "National Basketball League"), also commonly referred to as "La Liga de Básquet" ("The Basketball League"), is the top-tier level of the Argentine basketball league system ...

(first Argentine nationwide professional league), Atenas was successful at the Cordobese basketball league, winning the championship consecutively between 1948 and 1957 (exception made of 1953). Since the creation of the Liga Nacional in 1984, Atenas has become the most successful team in the league, winning the championship 9 times: 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991–92, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2008–09. Moreover, the Córdoba outfit has won the

Liga Sudamericana Liga or LIGA may refer to: People * Līga (name), a Latvian female given name * Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter Sports * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga ...

(South American League) in 1997, 1998 and 2004, and the former Campeonato Sudamericano de Clubes (South American Clubs Championship) in 1993, 1994, and 1996. Many Argentine internationals have played in Atenas, namely

Fabricio Oberto Fabricio Raúl Jesús Oberto (; born March 21, 1975) is an Argentine-Italian color analyst and former professional basketball player. At , he played as a center and power forward. With the LNB club Atenas, in his native Argentina, Oberto began ...

,"El regreso más esperado"
'' Clarín'', 2 January 2013

Walter Herrmann Walter Herrmann Heinrich (born June 26, 1979) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. He is listed at 6'9" and 225 lbs. He was a key member of the senior men's Argentine national basketball team that won the gold medal durin ...

Marcelo Milanesio Marcelo Gustavo Milanesio (born February 11, 1965 in Hernando, Córdoba) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. A significant figure in Argentine basketball, he defended Argentina for 2 titles, and Atenas for 14 club titles. He ...

Héctor Campana Héctor Oscar "Pichi" Campana Marcomini (born November 10, 1964) is an Argentine former basketball player and former vice-governor of his native Córdoba Province, for the Justicialist Party from 2007 to 2011. At club level, Campana won 7 time ...

Patricio Prato Patricio Prato (born November 24, 1979 in Buenos Aires) is a 194 cm tall Argentine basketballer. His father Fernando was a player as well. Currently he plays for NGC Cantu. He played his college ball in the United States for St. Bonaventu ...

, Gabriel Mikulas,

Diego Lo Grippo Diego Fernando Lo Grippo (born January 22, 1978) is an Argentine-Italian professional basketball player. He is tall, and he plays the positions of small forward and power forward. He also holds Italian nationality. Professional career Lo Gripp ...

, Fernando Prato,

Bruno Lábaque Bruno Lábaque (born November 11, 1977 in Córdoba) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. His position on the field was point guard. Lábaque spent most of his career at Atenas, where he won 12 titles with the team. Lábaque ...

Leonardo Gutiérrez Leonardo "Leo" Martín Gutiérrez (born May 16, 1978) is an Argentine former professional basketball coach and former player. He played as a power forward.

, Juan Manuel Locatelli, Diego Osella,

Carlos Cerutti Carlos Alberto Cerutti (Morteros, February 12, 1969 – Córdoba, May 3, 1990) was an Argentine professional basketball player. He was a tall center. Biography Cerutti was a three time Argentine league champion with Atenas (in 1987, 1988, a ...

and

Juan Espil Juan Alberto Espil Vanotti (born 5 January 1968) is a retired Argentine-Italian professional basketball player, who played as a shooting guard-small forward. Professional career Espil's last pro club was Bahía Basket (successor of Estudiant ...

, among others.

Players

Current roster

Retired numbers

Atenas has retired a total of four numbers, being

's n° 9 the first number to be retired in the history of LNB, when the club put it out of circulation in 2002.

Titles

National

* Liga Nacional (9): 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991–92, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2008–09 * Copa de Campeones (2): 1998, 1999 * Super 8 (1): 2010–11 *

Top A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a few ...

4 (1): 2003–04 *

Copa Argentina The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with the aim of qual ...

(1): 2008

International

(3): 1997, 1998, 2004 * Campeonato Sudamericano (2): 1993, 1994 * Campeonato Panamericano (1): 1996

Records and facts

* Largest win: 140–81 to Independiente de Tucumán (1985-08-29) * Worst defeat: 49–83 to Gimnasia y Esgrima LP (2004-01-06) * The Argentine team with most national (14) and international (6) titles * All-time topscorer:

(10,835) * Most games played: Marcelo Milanesio (848)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asociacion Deportiva Atenas Basketball teams in Argentina Basketball teams established in 1938 Argentine volleyball teams