JERUSALEM, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Champions League team Hapoel Jerusalem announced on Wednesday the signing of Ilias Kantzouris as head coach.
The 50-year-old Greek, who has signed until the end of the season with an option for the next, will replace Serbian Aleksandar Dzikic, who parted ways with the team due to the security situation in Israel.
"I am coming to a team that is very well coached and prepared, and all together we need to move towards the main course of the season that is coming very soon," Kantzouris said.
Kantzouris began his coaching career in 2000 as an assistant coach at Apollon Patras and served as an assistant coach at some of Europe's leading basketball clubs, including Zalgiris Kaunas, UNICS Kazan, and Bamberg in the Euroleague, until 2020.
For five seasons, Kantzouris was the assistant coach of Italian senior coach Andrea Trinchieri, spending one season in Kazan and four in Bamberg.
Since 2020, he has served as head coach at Iraklis Thessaloniki, Kolossos Rodou, AEK Athens, and French side Limoges, where he began the current season. He also served as an assistant coach for the Greek national team.
The Israeli Sports Ministry granted Jerusalem exceptional permission to sign Kantzouris, even though he does not meet the country's criteria for hiring foreign coaches. These criteria include extensive experience or winning titles in top leagues in the United States or Europe.
Jerusalem's General Manager, Yonatan Alon, added, "Ilias has an impressive resume and extensive knowledge of basketball. He is the right coach to lead us as we aim to compete for all the titles." ■
