A third-place finish in the Greek League has allowed Panionios BC Athens to get back to the Eurocup for the second year in a row and gives it a chance to build on one of its best seasons ever. Panionios was eliminated early in the 2012-13 Eurocup campaign after losing its first four regular season games before grabbing one-point victories against Telenet Oostende and Stelmet Zielona Gora. However, the team finished the Greek League regular season with a best-ever third place due to a 20-6 record. Led by Nikos Pappas and Landon Milbourne, Panionios won third place overall by beating AGO Rethymno 3-1 in the third-place series. Founded in 1890, Panionios started its basketball section long after that, and it wasn't until 1982 when the team reached the Greek first division. Before that, the club had reached the Greek Cup final in 1977. Panionios was among Greece's four best teams from 1984 to 1991 even though Aris stood in its way to lift trophies. It reached the Greek League finals in 1987 and had third-place finishes in 1986, 1988 and 1990. Its efforts finally paid off in 1991 when Panionios won its first and only trophy to date, the Greek Cup. Panionios started to do well in Eurocup competitions, too, and reached the Korac Cup semifinals in 1994, led by Fanis Christodoulou, Henry Turner and Panagiotis Giannakis, only to lose to eventual champion PAOK Thessaloniki. The club played the 1995-96 Euroleague and reached yet another European semifinal in the 1999 Korac Cup, but this time Barcelona stood in the way. Some underachieving years followed, but a fourth-place finish in the 2004-05 Greek League allowed Panionios to play the next season's Eurocup (then called ULEB Cup). Panionios reached the 2006 Eurocup elimination rounds before losing against Aris in a double-overtime classic, and matched those results in 2007, losing against Valencia in the Last 32. Panionios was third in the 2007-08 Greek League and earned the right to play in the Euroleague. Despite wins against Efes Pilsen, Partizan and Real Madrid, Panionios did not advance past the regular season. The club did not return to the Greek League semifinals again until the 2011-12 season, when Billy Keys, Stevan Nadjfeji and Jon Diebler helped Panionios to finish fifth at the end of the Greek regular season. That team stole the home-court advantage in two playoff series against AGOR and Kolossos to finish third overall and earn the right to play the Eurocup for the third time in club history. Last season, despite being swept by eventual champion Panathinaikos, Panionios bounced back to beat AGOR in the third-place playoffs and get another shot at making noise in the Eurocup!