Giorgos Sigalas (alternate spelling: Georgios) ( el, Γιώργος Σιγάλας, link=no; born July 31, 1971 in

Peristeri Peristeri (Greek language, Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 139,981 inhabitants (2011 census), it is the seventh-largest municipali ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Greece), is a retired Greek professional

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 ...

player and

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

. During the decade of the 1990s, the 2.01 m (6'7") tall

swingman A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term “swingman” (a.k.a. “wing” or “guard-forward”) denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forwa ...

was the regular team captain of the pro club

Olympiacos Piraeus Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

, of the Greek League and the EuroLeague, and also of the Greece men's national basketball team. Nicknamed Rambo, during his playing career, Sigalas was one of the best European defensive players of his generation. Sigalas helped Olympiacos Piraeus to win a EuroLeague title in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, as well as to make two more EuroLeague Finals appearances, in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. With the Greece men's national team, he competed in six consecutive

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

tournaments, (

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, and

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

), and he made it to the semifinals on the first three occasions. Sigalas was also instrumental on the Greek teams that made the semifinals of both the

1994 FIBA World Championship The 1994 FIBA World Championship was the 12th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. The tournament was hosted by Canada from August 4 to 14, 1994. The tournament was held at SkyDome and Maple L ...

and the

1998 FIBA World Championship The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Greece from 29 July to 9 August 1998. The tournament was contested by 16 n ...

, as well as on Greece's team that finished in fifth place at the

1996 Summer Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Professional career

Greece

Sigalas won five consecutive Greek League championships, while playing with

, from 1993 to 1997. He also won two Greek Cup titles with Olympiacos, in 1994 and 1997. He also served as the team's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In 1997, while playing with Olympiacos, Sigalas won the European basketball Triple Crown, meaning his team won the Greek League championship, the Greek Cup title, and also the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague championship, all in the same season. As of 2020, it is still the only time it has happened in the club's history.

Italy

Sigalas left

in 1997, after winning the EuroLeague championship with them, and he then joined the

Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

team Olimpia Milano. He played there during the 1997–98 season.

Return to Greece

Sigalas then returned to the Greek League the following year, to play with

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki
...

. He stayed with Aris until 2000, when he transferred to Aris' arch-rival

PAOK Thessaloniki PAOK ( el, ΠΑΟΚ, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans' ...

, with whom he played with from 2000 to 2002.

Spain

Sigalas next played in the Spanish League with

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, at the beginning of the 2002–03 season.

Back to Italy

Sigalas returned to the

, to play with

Viola Reggio Calabria Viola Reggio Calabria was an Italian professional basketball club based in Reggio Calabria, Calabria. At its heyday the club was renowned for discovering talented players who would go on to play at the highest level, for example five former playe ...

, at the end of the 2002–03 season.

End of career in Greece

In the last years of his pro playing career, Sigalas returned home to once again play in the Greek League, to finish his club career. He played with

Makedonikos Makedonikos B.C. (Greek: Μακεδονικός K.A.E.) is a Greek professional basketball club. The club is located in Neapoli, Thessaloniki, Greece. The parent athletic club was founded in 1928, and the basketball department was founded in 19 ...

in the 2003–04 season, with

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

in the 2004–05 season, and finally, Sigalas ended his career back with

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jamai ...

, where he played from 2005, until he retired in the year 2007.

National team career

Greece under-18, under-20 national teams

Sigalas made his U18 international debut with the Greece men's national under-18 basketball team at the

1990 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 1990 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_ ...

, and the

Greece men's national under-20 basketball team The Greece men's Under-20 national basketball team ( el, Εθνική ομάδα καλαθοσφαίρισης Νέων Ανδρών Ελλάδας, (Greek young men's national basketball team)) is the representative for Greece in international ...

won a silver medal at the

1992 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 1992 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship (known at that time as 1992 European Championship for Men 'Under22 and Under') was the first edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The city of Athens, in Greece, hosted the tournament. Italy ...

Greece men's national team

Sigalas was the long-time

of the Greece men's national basketball team. He played with the Greece men's national team in 185

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

. With Greece's senior team, he competed in six consecutive

s (

, and

). Sigalas competed with the Greece men's national team at the

, and the

, as well as at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games.

Post-playing career

After retiring from playing professional club basketball, Sigalas worked as a TV basketball commentator in Greece, for EuroLeague games. He also worked as a

for the

. He would coach Ermis Lagkada, during the 2009–10 season. Later, he coached the

Cypriot League The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

team

Keravnos Keravnos B.C. (Greek: Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Στροβόλου «Ο Κεραυνός»), also known as Keravnos Strovolou, is a professional basketball club based in Strovolos, Nicosia, Cyprus. It plays its home games in the Cos ...

, and the Greek team

Aigaleo Aigaleo or Egaleo ( el, Αιγάλεω ) is a suburban municipality in the western part of Athens, belonging to the West Athens regional administrative unit. It takes its name from Mount Aigaleo. Its population was 69,946 at the 2011 census. Ge ...

. In January 2020, Sigalas was hired as the assistant coach of Ilias Kantzouris, for Greek Basket League club

Iraklis Thessaloniki Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

. He then spent two seasons as an assistant coach with Kolossos Rodou, before returning to

in 2022, under coach Kastritis.

Awards and accomplishments

Pro club career

*5× consecutive Greek League Champion: (1993–1997) *5× consecutive Greek League Finals MVP: (1993–1997) *2× Greek Cup Winner: (1994, 1997) *7× Greek All-Star Game: (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002) *

EuroLeague All-Final Four Team The EuroLeague All-Final Four Team, or FIBA SuproLeague All-Final Four Team, was an award given by Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, to the top five basketball players of each season's EuroLeague Final Four competition. The EuroLeag ...

: (1994) *

FIBA European Selection FIBA All-Star Games were all-star basketball exhibition games, which were also known as "FIBA Festivals". The "FIBA Festival All-Star Games" were held from 1964 to 1995. The FIBA European Selection teams won most of the FIBA Festival All-Star Ga ...

: (1995) *

FIBA EuroStar FIBA EuroStars was an annual event, organized by FIBA Europe, as a showcase basketball game, from the 1996–97 season, until the 1999–2000 season. Commonly considered as the European equivalent of the NBA All-Star Game, the FIBA EuroStars game ...

: (1996) * Greek League MVP: (1996) * EuroLeague

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

: (1997) * Triple Crown Winner: (1997) *

Acropolis Tournament The Acropolis International Basketball Tournament (also known as the Acropolis of Athens Basketball Tournament and the Acropolis Basketball Cup) (Greek: Τουρνουά Ακρόπολις) is an international basketball competition that is playe ...

MVP: (1999)

References

External links

FIBA Europe ProfileEuroleague.net ProfileEurobasket.com ProfileSpanish League Profile

Italian League Profile

Draftexpress.com ProfileHellenic Basketball Federation Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigalas, Giorgos 1971 births Living people 1998 FIBA World Championship players Aris B.C. players Aris B.C. coaches Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics CB Granada players Greek basketball coaches Greek Basket League players Greek men's basketball players Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C. coaches Kolossos Rodou B.C. coaches Liga ACB players Makedonikos B.C. players Olimpia Milano players Olympiacos B.C. players Olympic basketball players of Greece Panionios B.C. players P.A.O.K. BC players Papagou B.C. players Shooting guards Small forwards Viola Reggio Calabria players 1994 FIBA World Championship players Basketball players from Athens