Koroivos Amaliadas- Aris 73-69
Aris players did their best not to win the game against Koroivos who started numb and trailing 15-24 in the end of the 1st quarter, failing to produce decent offensive basketball. Aris stretched the lead to 16 points but at that point Koroivos changed their defense to zone and reduced the gap to 4 (41-45).
The visitors struggled to hold Koroivos behind them slowing the pace a lot (55-58) but it was a matter of time until the home team overtake. Vezenkov was on his own with his teammates providing him minimum help. That resulted to Lowrey overtaking 3’ before the end, and from that point the lead did not change hands, forcing Aris to their first defeat of the season (there is no official decision concerning the game against PAOK) Robert scored 19 for the home team.
K.A.O.Dramas- Panionios 80-69
Panionios was hoping for their first season win but their opponent’s powerful 4th quarter forced them to their 6th defeat. The Dramians took control of the pace right from the jump-ball by playing good defense and got a 9-point lead 20-11 to end the quarter. Panionios stepped up and with Korolev leading their offense, they soon got closer, threatening KAOD for the lead, but the home team got a hold of it until the end of the half 37-36.
With their morale running high, the visitors reduced their turnovers, had Hancock in good shape and grabbed the lead, even getting in front for 4 points (53-57) after 30’. From then on KAOD pulled themselves together, played defense like they did in the beginning, forced Luke Hancock’s 5th foul and stormed past their opponents to reach their second win for the season. MVP was Lowe with 16 points, while Korolev score 22 for the “Red and Blue” who now must win Koroivos next week if they want to have any chances at saving the season.
A.O.Trikala- Panelefsiniakos 65-70
After an intense game, Panelefsiniakos escaped with an important win. Trikala who had the support of their fans, started the game well, scored some second chance points and got a small 17-13 head. But soon the visitors recovered with Elijah Johnson leading the way, tightened up their defense and went to the break leading 34-39.
It was now time for Trikala to step up and so they did, overtaking their opponents early on and holding a minimal lead until the end of the 3rd, 52-51. The 4th quarter belonged to Panelefsiniakos who defended very well allowing only 13 points, dominated the paint on both ends and 38 seconds before the end they sealed the deal with Johnson (MVP with 19 points), grabbing the points against a difficult opponent.
Kolossos Rhodes- A.E.N.Kifissias 64-73
AENK is in great shape this season and they proved it again past Saturday against struggling Kolossos. The Rhodians started strong managing to set their own pace in the game but AENK followed closely (21-17). However their defense broke apart in the second quarter allowing 25 points, 15 of them were part of an 1-15 run, while they had bad shooting totals, giving their opponents the chance to overtake and go to the locker rooms with boosted morale (34-42).
AENK shooting totals were not so good at the beginning of the second half but they managed to control the rebounds with Mavroeidis completing the game with 13 and 15 points. As a result, the home side was trailing after 30’ (50-59), but they could still have a shot at the game. Concentrated AENK side alongside the experience of the players, gave them a much needed win that brought them 3rd behind the two rivals. Next to impressive Mavroeidis, Duvnjak scored 19 points and 6 assists the same time that Hagins had 20.
A.E.K.- Apollon Patras 67-64
English shined and with 21 points led “Enosis” to their second win in the Basket League. The game was tight from early on with the home side holding a slight lead 16-14 after 10’. Apollon tried to overtake and control the game but AEK maintained a good offensive pace while defensively they did not allow many open shots for the visitors that however managed to stay very close to the score and went to the break trailing by one point, 39-38.
AEK got in the game after the break performing a nice run that got them in front 47-38, but El Amin “took his gun” and pushed his team to a new 0-13 partial score to give the visitors a small advantage 51-53. The closing period was nail-biting with the two clubs exchanging lead until the 38th minute when Delinikaitis scored 5 consecutive points and afterwards a set of free throws from Kaselakis to seal the deal for Dragan Sakota’s team.
A.G.O.R.- Olympiacos 54-64
Despite the absence of coach Giannis Sfairopoulos due to illness, the “Reds” seemed not to bother a lot starting the game with the impressive 2-15 run that turned into a 11-19 first period score. But the rest of the game was not that easy for them. AGOR changed their defense to zone formation causing scoring problems to their opponents while offensively they found some open shots reducing the gap to 2 points before the half, 27-29.
Olympiacos could not find a way to get to a safe distance again since the home team played with passion and determination, while the visitors were desperately looking to maintain their lead. They achieved it (49-50 after 30’) and they also played a decisive 4th quarter allowing only 5 points and securing a difficult win against competitive AGOR. MVP was Dunston with 11 points and Council scored 16 for the home side.
The game between Panathinaikos and P.A.O.K. will be postponed and a new date will occur.
