The devoted Stefanos Spartalis! (vid)
It's said that in his home island of Chios people go around in pairs, but Stefanos Spartalis is the exception to the rule...
The international center with the junior National selections, began his 'lonely' but already successful course years ago, in the Eastern Aegean island. And he's already successful - despite having a bright future in front of him - since his individual as well as group success he has had with the National teams are the best Chios has to show in terms of basketball!
He was born on Junly 27, 2006 and began playing basketball with BAOL due to his height but also urged by his mother. Truth is though that basketball wasn't his first love... Given that most of his friends were playing football and he wanted to play with them, he adamantly asked his parents to quit basketball. But his mother, aware of his talent and his potential thanks to his physical built ('I was always the tallest kid of the school') pushed him to keep it up, also teaming up in the effort with the family friend and coach Manolis Chatzilambrou, who pressed in the same direction. And as Stefanos today admits 'all of that evolved to the one of the best choices I've made in my life and I'm grateful to them for it".
He had proposals for quite a few teams, but Olympiacos was the one to succeed in incorporating him into his program in 2022, helping refine and showcase his skills. Through the successful Academy program, Spartalis had the chance to improve that much that today he's a member of the professional team. With hard work and dedication, he was the protagonist of junior tournaments, winning the U-18 Championship in 2024 and that of the Rising Stars also in 2024, winning MVP honors in both! Success and talent were the keys that led him to sing his first professional 5-year contract with Olympiacos in September 2024.
The 2024-2025 season will be one to be remembered, since not only he made his debut in the Stoiximan Basket League (October 21, 2024 against Karditsa, while he got to score his first professional points on December 8, 2024 against Kolossos), but thanks to his two-way licence he gets to shine playing with Papagos in the Elite League.
During the recent awards event held by Olympiacos' Academy, Stefanos was presented with honors for all the above but mainly for his devotion to the sport that led him to take the leap into the big category.