Giannis Bourousis plays his last game, leading his hometown team to historic promotion / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: InTime Sports Credit InTime Sports

Karditsa ended a dream year in Greece's second division in the best way as the hosts decimated guests Amyntas 100-66 winning their promotion to the Basket League. However, Giannis Bourousis was the centre of attention.

Last September, the veteran center decided to postpone his retirement plans in order to help his hometown team play in the top division for the first time ever. But now, it seems that the time has come for him to retire.

In the presence of the president of the Greek Basketball Federation, Vangelis Liolios, team captain Bourousis lifted the trophy in front of a sellout crowd.

That was the last game in the Greek center's illustrious basketball career, as the 38-year-old had repeatedly stated that getting Karditsa promoted would be his last mission.

"I feel vindicated for the decision I made. I put a lot of effort in coming to play in the second division but I wouldn't trade today's feeling with anything in the world. I am very glad that my city will play for the first time in the top division. I will be there to support them and I am happy that we're all experiencing these moments," Bourousis said postgame.

"Last year, I said I was quitting professional sports," he continued.

"I got myself an extension of eight months to help my city. That's what I did. I wanted it, I did it and I'm happy for it. It was a conscious decision."

The hosts were dominant throughout the game, with Giannis Bourousis being the top scorer for Karditsa with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Tsiloulis was also excellent with 15 points, while Draskovic had 7 points with 12 rebounds. For Amyntas, Kanonidis stood out with 14 points.

Bourousis is retiring from pro basketball, having won:

1 EuroLeague (2015) 2 Greek Championships (2002, 2017) 3 Greek Cups (2010, 2011, 2017) 1 Spanish Championship (2015) 2 Spanish Cups (2014, 2015) 2 Spanish SuperCups 1 Greek second-division title (2022)

At the national team level:

1 Gold medal at the 2005 EuroBasket 1 Bronze medal at the 2009 EuroBasket He was captain of the national team which he served from 2005 until 2019

During his career, which started at AEK Athens in 2001, Bourousis played for FC Barcelona, Olympiacos Piraeus (2006-2011), AX Armani Exchange Milan (2011-2013), Real Madrid (2013-2015), Baskonia (2-15-2016), Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (2016-2017), Gran Canaria (2019-2020), Peristeri (2020-21), plus two seasons (2017-19) in China.

He was a two-time All-EuroLeague First Team selection (2009, 2016) and Spanish League MVP (2016).

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