2008-09 club profile: Allianz Swans Gmunden
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 Austrian League superpower Allianz Swans Gmunden shocked everyone in its ULEB Cup debut last season. Now the four-time champion looks to do more of the same in the Eurocup. In an outcome that few people would have guessed before the start of the 2007-08 season, Gmunden reached the ULEB Cup elimination rounds behind top gun Deteri Mayes. Union Gmunden,
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Allianz Swans Roster 2008-09
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| Name |
Pos.
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Height
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| Elijah Palmer |
C
|
2.02
|
| Peter Hütter |
F
|
1.95
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| Michael Janisch |
G
|
2.02
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| Johannes Kienesberger |
G
|
1.78
|
| Matthias Mayer |
F
|
2.04
|
| Deteri Mayes |
G
|
1.89
|
| Enis Murati |
F
|
1.94
|
| Florian Schöninger |
F
|
1.86
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| Kristijan Splajt |
F
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1.94
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| Shelton Colwell |
C
|
2.03
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| Fridolin Ohlinger |
G
|
1.91
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| Valentin Kainhofer |
G
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1.79
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| Thomas Stelzer |
G
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1.85
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| Reggie Huffman |
F
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2.01
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| Dominik Gross |
G
|
1.92
|
| Anthony Fisher |
G
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1.90
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| Robert Gonnen |
Head Coach |
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as the club was originally called, opened its basketball section in 1965 and played its first game the following year. Gmunden reached the Austrian second division in 1972 and even made the top division in 1977, only to be relegated the following year. Swans Gmunden reached the top division again in 1992 behind Clarence Swearengen and Daryl Battles. The team was third in the 1993 Austrian League and took part in the 1994 Korac Cup, losing against Ghent in the preliminary round. That season, Swans was fourth in Austria and basketball fever reached Gmunden forever. Swans also played the 1995 Korac Cup, but also fell to the Austrian second division that season, only to return in 1997. Swans became a regular playoff team at home between 1998 and 2002, but when its main sponsor went bankrupt, Union Gmunden could not afford the team anymore and its basketball section became an independent club. It was the start of a new era for Gmunden, as it won the 2003 Austrian Cup, became the regular season champion and made the finals, losing against Kapfenberg in a heartbreaking five-game series. Mayes has led the club all the way during its recent success, becoming a basketball icon in Gmunden. Swans added another Austrian Cup title in 2004, but the best was yet to come. Swans finally lifted its first league trophy in 2005, sweeping Oberwart in the finals. The team has been unstoppable since that moment, adding three more league titles from 2006 to 2008 thanks to the unstoppable Mayes. In the 2008-09 Eurocup, Gmunden hopes to repeat or even improve on last year's European success, to keep showing that Austrian basketball gets better and better every season.
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Eurocupbasketball.com
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