Aris- P.A.O.K. 84-72
Third week of the Greek Basket League where the historic Greek derby between Aris and PAOK, drew all attention. Aris players were stunned by the great atmosphere inside Nick Gallis Hall, they stepped in nervously and allowed PAOK to have a 0-7 run. The home team answered with a 12-2 partial score and got in front, concluding the first period on top 22-20. Same pace until halftime, with PAOK trying to take control but Aris’ bench depth allowed them to stay close. The two sides got in the locker rooms with the home team leading by just 2, 41-39.
Simtsak was in good shape after the restart, quickly putting his team in front, leading to a clear 60-50 heads up. However the visitors returned to the game and by the first minutes of the final quarter, they reached within one point, 64-63. Xanthopoulos got in the game as playmaker and took control of the match, sharing the ball well on offence, boosting his team to a new 73-66 score. After that PAOK tried to get back in the game once again but some missed shots prevented them from having a shot at the game. 84-72 was the final score with White scoring 27 points and McNeal adding 18. For the defeated team, Vassileaidis scored 18 points.
Other results:
A.E.K.- Trikala BC 82-65
Loukas Mavrokefalides was outstanding and scored 26 points to help AEK stay on top for the whole game, making sure Trikala could not become a major threat.
Apollon Patras- Kolossos Rhodes 58-74
Kolossos was superior especially during the first half, being able to take control after 20′ and they only had to play some good defense at the second half to earn the two points. Larentzakis added 20 points for the Rhodians.
Kavala BC- Koroivos Amaliadas 74-89
Offense was the driving force for Koroivos to escape Kavala. The visiting teams usually use defense when on the road but this time Koroivos found too many open ways towards the basket, scored over 20 points in every period and finally got the win with Davis scoring 19 points.
A.E.Neas Kifissias- Lavrio G.S. 79-82
A very interesting game took place in Kifissia where the locals fell short to newcomers, Laurio. They got in front but the visitors overtook before halftime. The two teams exchanged leads but finally Laurio celebrated the win. MVP was Jamal Nixon with 24 points and 6 assists.
A.G.O.Rethimno- Panathinaikos 60-84
Easy Sunday trip for the “Greens” in Crete to face AGOR. The home team actually tried to make an impact to the game but an 8-23 score at the 3rd quarter gave them the upper hand until the end. Gist was again great with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Olympiacos- Arkadikos 89-44
A walk in the park for the “Reds” as Arkadikos did not resist and already from the first period, the score was 21-11. From then on coach Sfairopoulos tried several new tactics but that did not slow down his players as they crushed their opponents. Top scorer was Matt Lojeski with 20 points