Apollo Amsterdam is a Dutch basketball team based in Amsterdam. The club plays its games in the Promotiedivisie, the Dutch second-level league.
The club was founded in 2011 and has played in the highest national level for years, from 2012 to 2023. They qualified for the national playoffs four times. The amateur section of the club is known as BC Apollo.
Apollo Amsterdam is known for their focus on developing the Dutch basketball players and giving them growth perspective in a foreign player dominated league.
History
The club was founded in 2011, as a result of a merger between BV Lely and Mosquitos, both clubs from Amsterdam. Its name is derived from its home venue the Apollohal. Apollo took over the license of the old ABC Amsterdam second team.Eurobasket.com team profile In the first season of the club, Apollo played as an amateur team in the Promotiedivisie. They immediately won the Dutch amateur championship after defeating CBV Binnenland in the league final.
In 2012, Apollo club decided to enter the professional Dutch Basketball League (DBL) for the 2012–13 season. In its first season, led by coach Tyrone Marioneaux and All-Star Aron Royé, Apollo finished in ninth place in the DBL.
In 2013–14, Apollo managed to reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The club lost in the quarterfinals to GasTerra Flames, 0–2.
During Apollo's most successful season since their establishment, the club had financial problems which made it close to withdrawing from the DBL. However, in August 2014 it was announced Apollo would continue playing in the DBL.
In the 2015–16 season, Apollo made its second appearance in the DBL playoffs where it lost to Den Bosch 0–2 in the quarterfinals.
Apollo won its first playoff game in 2016, defeating ZZ Leiden in Game 1 of the quarterfinals. However, in a packed Apollohal, Leiden retrieved home advantage and went on to beat Apollo 1–2 and advance to the semifinals.
On 1 May 2020, Apollo announced it would not play in the 2020–21 DBL season because of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Apollo also announced Laki Lakner was replacing Patrick Faijdherbe as head coach. Lakner resigned after three games, and Edwin van der Hart took over for the remainder of the season. Apollo finished in ninth place for a second season in a row.
Since the 2021–22 season, Apollo plays in the BNXT League, in which the national leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands have been merged. In June 2021, Wierd Goedee was signed as new head coach.
In June 2023, following the 2022–23 season, Apollo was forced to withdraw from the BNXT League as it was unable to come up with the necessary budget for participation. The BNXT organisation required a minimum budget of €350,000 which Apollo was unable to bring together with its sponsorships. Apollo entered the second-level Promotiedivisie for the 2023–24 season.
Honours Promotiedivisie Winners (1): 2011–12 Runners-up (1): 2025–26
Players
Individual awards DBL All-Defense Team Berend Weijs – 2019 DBL Rookie of the Year Berend Weijs – 2013 DBL blocks leader Berend Weijs – 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019 DBL All-Rookie Team Lucas Steijn – 2014
Notable players
NCAA Division 1 players from academy The youth academy of Apollo Amsterdam has developed the following players who have played in the NCAA Division I. Players in bold have played minutes for the senior team in the Dutch Basketball League or BNXT League. Player Committed to First year Rutgers 2014 Syracause 2019 Northern Colorado 2016 Evansville 2020 Kansas 2019 Bradley 2021 Canisius 2020
Top scorers by seasons SeasonNamePPG2012–13 Aron Royé16.32013–14 Aron Royé13.22014–15 Dimeo van der Horst12.82015–16 Aron Royé15.62016–17 Dimeo van der Horst16.0 SeasonNamePPG2017–18 Micheal Madanly16.12018–19 Dimeo van der Horst15.62019–20 Xavier Cannefax21.92020–21 Berend Weijs13.52021–22 Roger Moute a Bidias15.9
Individual awards
DBL Top Scorer Xavier Cannefax – 2020 DBL Rookie of the Year Berend Weijs – 2013 DBL All-Rookie Team Lucas Steijn – 2014
Season by season SeasonTierLeagueNBB Cup Apollo Amsterdam2011-12 2 Promotiedivisie Champions2012–13 1 DBL 9th Eightfinals2013–14 1 DBL 8th Eightfinals2014–15 1 DBL 7th Eightfinals2015–16 1 DBL 5th Quarterfinals2016–17 1 DBL 5th Semifinals2017–18 1 DBL 7th Eightfinals2018–19 1 DBL 6th Quarterfinals 2019–20 1 DBL 9th Quarterfinals2020–21 1 DBL 9th First round2021–22 1BNXT League NL 9thEightfinals BNXT 19th2022–23 1BNXT League NL 10thEightfinals BNXT 20th2023-24 2 Promotiedivisie 6th2024-25 2 Promotiedivisie 3rd2025-26 2 Promotiedivisie Runner-up2026–27 2 Promotiedivisie
List of head coaches The following is a list of all the head coaches of Apollo since its establishment in 2011: Period Coach2011–2013 Tyrone Marioneaux 2013–2014 Hakim Salem 2014–2015 Jaanus Liivak 2015–2020 Patrick Faijdherbe 2020–2021 Laki Lakner 2021 Edwin van der Hart2021–present Wierd Goedee
Notes
References
External links Official website Eurobasket.com BC Apollo Amsterdam Page