Home Domestic Leagues Greek Basket League round-up (week 9)

Greek Basket League round-up (week 9)

Olympiacos got the stressfull win against Koroivos while Panathinaikos stormed past Panionios. Read full review of all the games below and take a look at the League table after 9 games.

Aris- A.E.K. 86-75

Sakota’s AEK was stopped after 3 consecutive wins at “Nick Gallis Hall”, from Aris who dominated the game right from the start playing great defense and forcing their opponents to many missed shots. 23-11 was the score at the opening quarter with the away side regrouping, controlling the rebounds and managing to reach within 5 points (41-36) at the end of the half.

Aris repeated his great start in the second half too, forcing AEK to many bad shots and poor choices and with Vezenkov in an offensive crescendo, they made a big step towards the victory (67-52). The closing quarter seemed pointless since AEK attempted to come closer but their concentrated opponents did not allow them to become a threat. Pasalic was the top scorer with 19 points and on the other side English had 15p. and 10 rebounds.

Apollon Patras- P.A.O.K. 80-70

It is clear that PAOK is not in top form and it was confirmed this weekend, after their defeat in Patra. The home side started the game strong and with good offensive choices soon found themselves in front and after 10 minutes the score was 21-12. The visitors balanced the game and found some open shots to come closer hoping to improve in the second half (34-25).

But things did not go as planned and after 19-7 run for Apollon, PAOK seemed to lose control and finally ended the 3rd period trailing 62-44.  Marc Carter was the biggest disappointment for his team but what really hurt his team was their poor offensive form. The visitors improved their offensive stats but Apollon remained dominant, securing the win with Fitzpatrick scoring 23 points. Tsochlas and Langford scored 16 for the defeated team.

Kolossos Rhodes- A.O.Trikala 77-69

Kolossos was dominant right from the start and achieved their 4th win this season. The Rhodians started the game playing quick and aggressive basketball taking the upper had (23-13) with Trikala balancing the game but when they tried to turn things around, the home side defended well, managing to get to the locker rooms in front 41-31.

Kolossos appeared numb after the break and was caught off-guard from the zone defense Trikala played. The visitors had a 0-10 run, reaching within 2 points and after 30’ they were trailing 50-46 . Kolossos had very bad shooting totals but dominated the rbounds while their opponents tried to overtake but the concentrated home side defended well, forced some bad shots behind the arc and secured the win in an intense gamewith lots of tactics from both coaches. Haggins scored 20 points and led the winners the same time that Bowie was the top scorer with 22 but that was not enough for his team that now counts 6 consecutive defeats.

Panathinaikos-Panionios 92-61

Panionios was hoping for a good appearance after their 2 wins in-a-row but they had no chance against Panathinaikos who played in front of 12.000 fans, after the team’s decision to decrease the price ticket to 1€ for this game. They had an offensive crescendo in the start of the game and mostly secured the win (30-18). Panionios tried to recover but his player’s anxiety and inexperience led them to some turnovers that Panathinaikos took advantage of, going to the locker rooms leading 49-33.

The bad start the “Red and Blue” had on the second half was the tombstone of their hopes for something positive since the home team did not slow down, taking full control of the game, 74-47 after 30’. The closing quarter was mostly a quarter for the younger players to take some time and gain experience and with Panathinaikos already winners, there was no big interest. For the “Greens” Gist had 19 points and for Panionios Woods was the only player who scored double digits (12p.)

Panelefsiniakos- K.A.O.Dramas 83-69

KAOD struggled to stay close to their opponents but they could not walk away with the win mostly due to their bad second half. The two teams got in the game nervously and Panlefsiniakos got on top 20-19 after 10 minutes. The game was slightly improved in the following quarter with the home team controlling the rebounds and finding space to run the fast break. However the visitors stayed close and ended the half trailing 45-39.

It was an ex KAOD player, Markovic who led the home side during the 3rd and despite Odom’s offensive attempts, the home team got on top with double digits (67-57). From that point on the visitors were powerless to comeback mostly due to their bad defense that allowed their opponents to score anytime they wanted to. Johnson had 17 while Markovic scored 16 for Panelefsiniakos while Odom stood out with 12 points for KAOD alongside Atkins.

A.E.N.Kifissias- A.G.O.Rethimno 64-74

The most interesting game of the weekend took place in Kifissia where the local team fell short to AGOR in the game that decided the 3rd place for the time being. The Cretans were in control right from the start of the game, exploiting their opponent’s bad shooting totals and ended the first quarter in front 15-22. Not many things changed and the following quarter belonged to the visitors that easily held AENK back, going to half time in front 33-40.

The home team tried to focus on their defensive work but Rethimno’s polyphony in offense proved to be an obstacle that could not be overtaken after 30 minutes (47-58). It was clear that AENK was out of shape but Mavroeidis tried to bring them back in the game and he achieved it since the gap was reduced to 2 points 5 minutes before the buzzer. However that was the maximum his team could provide and as a result AGOR had another run and “sealed the deal” overtaking their opponents in the League table and reaching the 3rd place behind the two big rivals.

Olympiacos- Koroivos Amaliadas 79-73

Olympiacos had a heartbeat but managed to take the win against Koroivos that raised many eyebrows with their inspiring performance in Peace and Friendship Stadium (SEF). It seemed to be an easy day at work for the “Reds” since they dominated the first quarter and got a 27-21 lead that was expected to be bigger during the second period, but Koroivos was significantly improved, scored some big shots and with Olympiacos playing with no passion, the halftime score was 43-40.

The visitors did not stop there and they were even more concentrated after the break, with boosted morale and a couple of tricks up their sleeves. Koroivos defended hard and despite Spanoulis’ heroics they got in front couple of minutes before the end of the 3rd but Olympiacos balanced the score to 57-57. The home team saved the day mostly because the newcomers could not control the pressure of the game and they walked away with a stressful win and an impressive performance by their caprtain Vasillis Spanoulis (21 points and 6 assists). On the other side Davis scored 22 and was the top scorer of the match.

# Team MP W D L SF SA D P Last 5 matches
1 9 8 0 1 715 569 +146 17 WWWWW
2 8 8 0 0 674 500 +174 16 WWWWW
3 9 6 0 3 667 649 +18 15 WWWLL
4 9 5 0 4 664 655 +9 14 LWLWL
5 9 4 0 5 654 696 -42 13 LWWWL
6 8 5 0 3 589 580 +9 13 WLLLW
7 9 4 0 5 644 646 -2 13 WLWLW
8 9 4 0 5 647 692 -45 13 WLWLL
9 7 5 0 2 499 494 +5 12 LWLWW
10 9 3 0 6 651 686 -35 12 WLLWW
11 9 3 0 6 661 691 -30 12 LLLWW
12 9 2 0 7 599 662 -63 11 LLLWL
13 9 2 0 7 692 724 -32 11 LLLLL
14 9 2 0 7 601 713 -112 11  LWWLL

 

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