By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
As Eurohoops reported, Greek coach Ilias Kantzouris is the new coach of Limoges CSP, taking over from Massimo Cancellieri.
Limoges parted ways with the Italian coach after two seasons and appointed Kantzouris for at least two years.
“I am very honored to take on the technical management of a historic team like Limoges, whose formidable tradition we all know. I thank the owners and the sporting director for their confidence, and all together, now we must work to restore the team to the level. It is the dream of the whole city and for Beaublanc to relive moments similar to the past. The rest will happen on the pitch,” Kantzouris said.
The sporting director of Limoges, Kevin Anstett, welcomed former Iraklis, Kolossos, and AEK head coach to French basketball and the team from the Beaublanc arena.
“The arrival of Ilias is a very positive sign for me. He was an assistant in big clubs and succeeded at different levels as a head coach. He chose to leave his country of origin to join Limoges CSP thanks to the club’s history and the rise of the French championship. His knowledge of basketball, his adjustments to basketball, and his management made him the first option for the club as a coach. We want to build this project together over time, and I will do my best to achieve this with Ilias. Welcome to Limoges CSP,” Anstett added.
Kantzouris began his career 2000 as an assistant coach with the Greek club Apollon Patras. He then continued as an assistant with Greek clubs Aris Thessaloniki, Sporting Athens, AEK Athens, and Panellinios.
In 2011, he left Greece and became assistant coach of the Lithuanian club Žalgiris Kaunas (2011-2012 season), then assistant coach of the Russian club UNICS Kazan during the 2013-2014 season. After that, he continued as an assistant for the German club Brose Bamberg from 2014 to 2018.
It was in February 2018 that Kantzouris became the main but “interim” coach at Brose Bamberg after the team fired Andrea Trinchieri. He held this position at Brose Bamberg until the club hired Luca Banchi as their new manager.
In January 2020, Kantzouris returned to Greece and signed with the Greek club Iraklis ( his first official position as head coach).
The following season, he became coach of Kolossos Rhodes, where he remained for two successful seasons.
In July 2022, Kantzouris was offered the opportunity to return to AEK Athens as head coach. He will stay there for a season after leading his team to the quarter-finals of the playoffs of the Greek championship and the quarter-finals of BCL.