The “Blonde”, as he came to be called in the basketball world, wrote his own history and rightfully belongs to the pantheon of Greek basketball, said the Minister of Rural Development and Food Lefteris Avgenakis, on the death of Yiannis Ioannidis.

“One of the most historic figures of Greek basketball, a legend of Greek sports, is no longer with us. Giannis Ioannidis, as a coach, associated his name with the great Aris of the 80s, he led the Olympiakos team to great glory in the 90s, while, among other things, he was also the coach of the “official favorite”.

In addition to his successful career on the basketball courts, Yiannis Ioannidis was for a number of years a Member of Parliament with the ND, while he held the position of Deputy Minister of Sports for two years. We coexisted in the seats of the Parliament, with our marches having the common denominator of the good of our sports family.

The “Blonde”, as he came to be called in the basketball world, wrote his own history and rightfully belongs to the pantheon of Greek basketball, while he also left an indelible mark on the Greek political scene.

My deepest condolences to his family.”