Andreas Pistiolis to continue with CSKA

The 45-year-old Greek specialist took charge of CSKA in mid-April, immediately after the end of the VTB League regular season. Under his leadership, the red-blues won the playoff series against Enisey and Zenit, making it to the finals.

Pistiolis also worked on the CSKA staff as an assistant to Dimitris Itoudis from 2014 to 2022, winning two EuroLeague titles and six VTB United League gold medals with the team. Three more victories in the EuroLeague and six in the Greek Championship were achieved by Andreas at Panathinaikos, at the staff of Zeljko Obradovic.

Andrey Vatutin, PBC CSKA President:

It's always nice when people justify the trust placed in them. By inviting Andreas to lead the team a week before the start of the playoffs, we decided to take a risky step. And the point was not in the professional qualities of the coach - we had no doubts about them - but in the difficult circumstances in which these qualities had to be demonstrated. Pistiolis accepted this challenge with great desire and enthusiasm and, I think, coped with the main task: the team, the club and our fans together got out of the situation of doom in which they found themselves at the end of the VTB League regular season, increased optimism and set themselves up for a high result. The players immediately gained confidence in the coach, accepted his system, quickly adapted to the changes, and the team began to look completely different. The season is not over, but no matter how the final episode ends, we have all already received a good charge of positivity and faith in the future. Andreas will soon face another challenge: he will have to deal not with crisis management, but with the scrupulous work of selection, team building and its further leadership over a long period of time. With all my heart I wish the coach health, good luck, patience and great success in our joint work.

Andreas Pistiolis, CSKA head coach:

I have been part of this organization for 8 years already and I know that being the head coach of CSKA, a legendary basketball team with an unparalleled culture and a natural tendency for excellence, is an honor. I would like to express my gratitude to Andrey Vatutin and to Natalia Furaeva, for their belief in my leadership and for their trust. At the same time, it is also a unique challenge for every coach in Europe, and I am determined to transform this challenge to a new beginning. With hard work, patience, sacrifice, consistency, discipline and self-confidence we will transform challenges into opportunities and setbacks into stepping stones. We will push the boundaries and redefine what is possible. I am thrilled about this journey. Let's make history together again!