Maroussi became the 24th and final team to qualify for the 2009-10 Euroleague Regular season, and will face European giants CSKA Moscow and Maccabi Tel Aviv in their group matches.

The Athens side has shown it is ready for the ‘big time’ of European club competition with impressive victories in its two qualifying matches.

Maroussi is a steadily growing club, ever-present in the Greek League semi-final stage in recent years, and has respectable experience for a Euroleague rookie team with five players having played in the competition before.

An added bonus, of course, is that head coach Georgios Bartzokas and his men are now battle-tested after surviving the qualifying rounds.

They knocked out Alba Berlin, a Top 16 club last year, as well as fellow-Greek club Aris, who they thrashed in the first qualifier.

Maroussi brings a roster with a healthy blend of styles and personalities to the Euroleague regular season. Several of the players who led the team to finish third in Greece last season are back, including floor general Billy Keys, scorer Georgios Diamantopoulos, forward Kostas Kaimakoglou and centre Dimitrios Mavroeidis.

To that core, the club has added defensive ace Michalis Pelekanos, playmakers Jamon Lucas and Marios Batis, and big men Jared Homan, Stephen Arigbabu and Levon Kendall. The last three round out a frontcourt featuring five men who are at least 2.08 meters tall.

With size, speed, depth, experience and talent, Maroussi has all the ingredients needed to make its Euroleague debut something to remember.

Bartzokas told the Euroleague website about his excitement to be a part of the elite contest; “We are very excited that our team finally made the Euroleague groups after so many years of hard work. It was something we deserved after going through tough preliminary rounds,” he said.

“We are a Cinderella, but we believe in ourselves and our ability to improve through competition. It’s also an honour as well as a challenge to be the first coach to lead this team into the Euroleague,” said Bartzokas.

Bartzokas indicated the core strength of club was its ability to share the work load around a talented roster, saying, “We tried to keep the backbone of last year’s team, mixing them with new and talented players who meet our philosophy. Our main principle is team effort on both offense and defence. We do not depend on one star player, but on teamwork.”

With the ominous task not lost on him, Bartzokas spared a word for the club’s opponents in its European top-flight debut, “Our club will face teams with greater experience: CSKA and Maccabi have been European champions, Caja Laboral many times in the Final Four, while Roma and Olimpija have many years in the competition.

“Meeting their standards requires that Maroussi be the best we can be. There will be great games guaranteed by high-level competition between great players and clever coaches. The fans will appreciate this and I hope the ride will be exciting.”

Maroussi faces CSKA Moscow in its season debut on Wednesday October 21st while Olympiakos face French side Orleanaise on the same evening. Panathiaikos commences its season the following night away to Milano in Italy.