Vassilis Symtsak (alternative spellings: Vasilis, Vasileios, Simtsak) (; (born 3 March 1981) is a 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 (appro ...

coach and former player, currently an assistant coach for

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

of the

Greek Basketball League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the Hellenic Basketball Associat ...

(GBL) and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

, under head coach

Ergin Ataman Halil Ergin Ataman (born January 7, 1966) is a Turkish professional basketball coach, currently managing Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague. He is also the head coach of the Turkish national team. During ...

. Standing at 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in), he mainly played at the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

position.

Professional career

Some of the clubs that Symtsak has played with in his pro career include:

Doukas The House of Doukas ( pl. Doukai; , pl. , feminine form Doukaina; ), Latinized as Ducas, was a Byzantine Greek noble family, whose branches provided several notable generals and rulers to the Byzantine Empire in the 9th–11th centuries. A mat ...

, Sporting,

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

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

, Trikala 2000,

Kavala Kavala (, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the A2 motorway, a one-and ...

, Ikaros Kallitheas, and

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 2014, he signed with the Greek League club

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 Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

. He then re-signed with Aris in 2015. After the end of the 2016–17 season, Symtsak completed 10 seasons in the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

, counting 1,068 points, 1,095 rebounds, 154 assists, 116 steals, and 43 blocks, in a total of 258 appearances. On 19 July 2017, Symtsak penned a single-season deal with

Greek A2 Basket League The Greek A2 Basket League (), is a professional basketball league in Greece. It is the 2nd-tier level of pro competition, among clubs in the country. It is organized by the Hellenic Basketball Federation (E.O.K.). The league is also known as th ...

club

Peristeri B.C. Peristeri B.C., or Peristeri Athens B.C. (Greek: Περιστερίου K.A.E.) is a Greek professional basketball club that is located in Peristeri, Greece, which is both a city and a suburb in the western part of the Athens agglomeration. The c ...

Averaging 6.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, he helped the club with his experience to celebrate the championship and the return to

after five years. On July 21, 2022, he signed with

Tofaş TOFAŞ Türk Otomobil Fabrikası A.Ş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, ...

of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...

as an assistant coach. On February 21, 2023, he returned to Panathinaikos as an assistant to Christos Serelis.

Personal life

Symtsak is of mixed Polish and Greek descent. His father is Polish, while his mother originates from a Greek family that found refuge in Poland, after the Greek Civil War.

Awards and accomplishments

*2× Greek 2nd Division Champion: (2007, 2018) ;As assistant coach *

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

(

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

) (with

) * Greek League champion: 2024 (with

) *

Greek Super Cup The Greek Super Cup (), formerly known as the Friendship and Solidarity Cup () is a Greek association football one-match competition, which is contested annually either between the champions of the previous Super League Greece season and the hold ...

Winner:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

(with

)

References

External links

EuroCup ProfileChampions League ProfileEurobasket.com ProfileGreek Basket League Profile

Greek Basket League Profile

Aris ProfileTwitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Symtsak, Vassilis 1981 births Living people AEK B.C. players Aris B.C. players Basketball players from Athens BC UNICS coaches Centers (basketball) Doukas B.C. players Greek Basket League players Greek basketball coaches Greek expatriate basketball people in Russia Greek expatriate basketball people in Turkey Greek men's basketball players Greek people of Polish descent Ikaros B.C. players Kavala B.C. players Panathinaikos B.C. non-playing staff Panionios B.C. players P.A.O.K. BC players Peristeri B.C. players Polish people of Greek descent Power forwards Sporting basketball players Tofaş S.K. coaches Trikala B.C. players 21st-century Greek sportsmen