The Stoiximan AegeanBall Festival closed its eighth edition in Syros with a new participation record, drawing 193 teams, 730 athletes, and 270 games to Miaouli Square from June 26 to 28.
The three-day FIBA 3×3 event turned the historic square in Hermoupolis into an open-air basketball setting, with four courts operating through the weekend and more than 2,500 spectators reported each day, according to event organizers. Athletes ranged in age from 8 to 48, with categories running from youth divisions to adult and Veterans 35+ play. Participants came from Greece and five other countries, including the United States, England, Lebanon, Albania, and Cyprus.
Giorgos Printezis, the Syros-born former Olympiacos forward and two-time EuroLeague champion, again hosted the event, which has become one of Greece’s best-known 3×3 basketball gatherings. The festival’s official site had announced the 2026 edition as its eighth year on the island.
This year’s edition also coincided with the 200th anniversary of the Municipality of Syros-Hermoupolis. Miaouli Square, framed by the Hermoupolis Town Hall designed by Ernst Ziller, gave the tournament one of its clearest images: a marble civic square repurposed for street basketball, night games, and packed stands.
The youth program included the U11 Vikelas category, named for Dimitrios Vikelas, the Syros-born writer who played a central role in the revival of the modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. The International Olympic Committee identifies Vikelas among the figures tied to the Athens revival.
The event was attended by Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Vassilis Kikilias and Alternate Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports Ioannis Vroutsis, adding a government presence to a weekend that mixed competition, tourism, and local celebration.
The program extended beyond tournament play. Organizers opened the week with the “Jump Ball of Love,” an inclusion-focused initiative, followed by a basketball clinic led by Joe Arlauckas and Anastasia Kostaki for young athletes from Aris Syrou and AO Hermoupolis. A Walking Basketball 60+ presentation introduced older residents to a lower-impact version of the game built around safe movement and social contact.
The VIP games gave the weekend its marquee results. Trident Vibers won the VIP 4on4, with a roster listed by organizers as Bourousis, Mantzaris, Raca, Kostaki, K. Papaloukas, Chalkia, and Papakanellos. Stoiximan Knights won the VIP 3×3 League final, 14-13, behind a team listed as Arlauckas, Papapetrou, Kavvadas, Tyree, Bosgana, and Kilazidou.
The courts also drew well-known figures from Greek and European basketball, including Dimitris Diamantidis, Theodoros Papaloukas, Fragkiskos Alvertis, Kostas Tsartsaris, Ioannis Papapetrou, Nemanja Nedović, Moses Wright, Ben Bentil, Vlado Jankovic, Nikos Gkikas, Brent Petway, Dimitris Mavroeidis, Breein Tyree, Vassilis Kavvadas, Artemis Spanou, Eleanna Christinaki, Ioanna Krimili, Ivana Jakubcova, and Georgia Veloudou.
Skills contests added another layer to the weekend. Winners included Anastasia Kostaki in the Shoot All Around, Ioanna Krimili in the 3 Point Contest, Kostas Tsartsaris in the Free Throw Contest, Breein Tyree in the Slalom & Shoot and Skill Challenge, Ben Bentil in the SENECA 3 Point Contest, and Vassilis Kavvadas in the JBL Shoot All Around.
For viewers outside Greece, the VIP 4on4 games on Saturday and the VIP 3×3 League on Sunday were carried by COSMOTE TV, with the broadcast also reaching audiences in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The coverage gave the event a reach beyond Syros, including Greek basketball fans in diaspora markets.
The festival also expanded its off-court footprint. Organizers introduced the event’s first official merchandise through an adidas booth inside the Fun Zone, which included sponsor booths, games, contests, prizes, and daily activities for visitors in Miaouli Square.
The weekend closed with a drone show above Miaouli Square and Hermoupolis Town Hall. Organizers also pointed to a local contribution tied to the event, with Stoiximan funding the renovation and modernization of two single rooms at the “Agios Panteleimonas” care home operated by the Hermoupolis Ladies’ Philanthropic Society.
The Stoiximan AegeanBall Festival was organized by Progame, the Municipality of Syros-Hermoupolis, and the Region of the South Aegean, with support from national and local sports bodies, media partners, and sponsors. For Syros, the weekend placed basketball in the center of public life for three summer nights, with a crowd, a court, and a square doing the rest.