Cyprus basketball federation announces coaching updates and youth tournament participation

The Cyprus Basketball Federation has appointed Panagiotis Giannaras as the new head coach of the men's national team. Giannaras, who previously led the team from 2013 to 2017, will be assisted by Michalis Matsentidis, Nikos Lamprias, and Dimitris Aristotelous. His first match in charge will take place on August 27, 2026, at the Spyros Kyprianou stadium in Limassol against Austria, as part of the EuroBasket 2029 qualifiers. Meanwhile, the U20 national team, coached by Antonis Konstantinidis, has departed for Bratislava, Slovakia, to compete in the FIBA U20 EuroBasket 2026 Division B. The team is in Group C alongside Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Portugal, Armenia, and Iceland. The tournament runs from July 10 to July 19, 2026, with the team facing five group matches in six days. The U20 squad includes 12 players: Glafkos Konstantinou, Alexandros Kyriakou, Pampos Dimitriou, Vasilis Petridis, Stefanos Georgiou, Alexandros Papadopoulos, Michalis Karagiannis, Maximos Koutouris, Demir Oztoprak, Dimitris Mannaris, Georgios Marnelos, and Konstantinos Kouzapas.