By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
After a five-year course and nine titles with Fenerbahce, Kostas Sloukas is signing a three-year contract with Olympiacos.
Fenerbahce proved to be more than a classy club. They could keep him, after the moves they made, but they respected his wish to return to Olympiacos.
“Kostas Sloukas will continue to be remembered as one of the valuable parts of our team, which has marked one of the most special periods of Fenerbahçe basketball,” Fenerbahce wrote in the announcement.
The Greek player thanked Fenerbahce via his social media: “This is a hard decision to take, like all life decisions. I ‘ve grown up as a man as a person as a professional within these 5 years with all you guys, the staff, the coaches, the teammates, the fans – let me call you all my Fenerbahce family for the rest of my life. Memories, trophies, hard nights, happy mornings, unforgettable life moments keeping them inside me forever. I feel nothing but appreciation and gratitude to all of you for everything you gave me every single day. Special thanks to President Mr. Ali Koc, the Vice President Mr. Semih Ozsoy, and the GM Mr. Maurizio Gherardini for their understanding of my request. Hope that my dedication and respect to the club allow you all smile on this hard goodbye…”
Sloukas returns to Olympiacos where he spent the first seven years of his pro career (2008-15) and with which he won two straight EuroLeague titles (2012, 2013) as well as two Greek League titles and a Greek Cup.
He will also reunite with coach Georgios Bartzokas who he worked with for two seasons (2012-14) during his first stint with Olympiacos, as well as with teammates Vassilis Spanoulis and Georgios Printezis.
This past season, the 30-year-old Greek guard averaged 11.6 points, 6.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and one steal over 42 games split between the competitions in Turkey and the EuroLeague.
Olympiacos has been active in assembling the squad for the upcoming season as they kept Printezis, Spanoulis, and Sasha Vezenkov while brining in Hassan Martin, Livio Jean-Charles, Giannoulis Larentzakis, Charles Jenkins, and Aaron Harrison.