Olympiacos- P.A.O.K. 83-76
PAOK traveled to Athens without two of his most important players, Big Sofo and Vassileiadis but this did not stop Markopoulos’ squad to be more than competitive against League leaders Olympiacos. They tried to establish a quick pace, caught the home team off-guard and by the end of the first period they were in front 23-21. Olympiacos had to follow and was looking to overtake but “Dikefalos tou Vorra” was steady on top. Finally the “Reds” got the lead but a buzzer beater by Tepic before half time got the game even 41-41.
The second half started with Olympiacos being anxious and was unable to find easy ways to the basket, letting PAOK take control once again. The visitors at that point had 9/15 from behind the arc, and by the 31st minute they were leading 58-64. However, the lack of many choices from the bench and the well-known Olympiacos quality, allowed them to run a partial 10-2 run to overtake and apply pressure on their opponent. But PAOK was not about to let the game go, answered with a new 2-8 run and kept the game’s interest until the end. The last minute belonged to Spanoulis who scored 8 points and boosted his team to the win, which was predicted to be easier but their opponents proved to be a great match-up. Lojeski was the top scorer for the “Reds” with 17 points while the captain Spanoulis had 14 points and 8 dimes. For PAOK, Duvnjak was the best player and game’s top scorer with 21 points and 4/4 treys.
A.E.K.- Koroivos Amaliadas 70-49
Koroivos never got in the game, AEK was serious during the first quarter looking to avoid an upset and the final score clearly reflects the quality difference of the two clubs. Mavroidis was the MVP with 16 points and 8 rebounds.
Apollon Patras- Kavala B.C. 66-59
Kavala was nervous after the tip off and the home team took advantage allowing only 13 points by playing tight and physical defense. Slightly improved visitors tried to equalize but again Apollon was solid on defense, getting to the locker rooms in front 38-27. After a not entertaining 3rd quarter with a partial 11-14 score, Apollon switched to zone marking and reduced the pace even more, to successfully take control of the game and finally get the win. MVP was Woods who achieved a double- double (10 points 13 rebs).
A.G.O.Rethimno- Arkadikos B.C. 89-76
AGOR focused on offense, steadily scoring over 20 points in all 4 periods to overtake the obstacle of Arkadikos that fought had but could not stop Delinikaitis who added 23 points. Halftime score was 44-36, and during the second, Arkadikos looked to make a comeback but it was not possible as they missed a couple of crucial open shots.
A.E.N.Kifissias- Trikala B.C. 115-79
AENK improved their win/ lose ratio to 9-8 after playing total basketball and crashing Trikala at home. Their outstanding offensive play did not allow the visitors to even have a shot to the match as they scored every way possible leading at half time 58-33. Marshall (21), El Amin (19), Smith (16) and Hogg led the way on offense, with the last one having 15 points and 10 rebounds to make another outstanding performance, establishing his presence as one of the top players this season.
Aris- Lavrio G.S. 82-68
Tight start to the match between the two sides, with Aris missing many open shots, but their defense was top notch, allowing only 8 points at the first period. After that, the game was tight but the “Emperor” could find some open space to run the fastbreak, while their defensive discipline was impressive throughout. MVP was White who led the stats for his team with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. For Lavrio, Giannakopoulos added 11 while Balds and Keselj were the other two to score double digits (10p.)
Kolossos Rhodes- Panathinaikos 64-77
Panathinaikos was a significant fanbase in Rhodes and they made their presence known in the island of Rhodes, boosting their team towards the win against a team they usually meet difficulties on the road. Kolossos played with lots of energy and hustle leading 21-20 after 10 minutes. But Panathinaikos stepped up and found the open shots they needed while Raduljica played more on the post, to lead the “Greens” at halftime in front 34-44. From then on, the home team tried to turn things around but Feldain who was the top scorer with 20 points, safely gave his team the win.
