Another matchday has gone by in the Greek league, which was highlighted by Olympiacos decisive win over their arch rivals of Panathinaikos in OAKA. Panionios and Kolossos also earned their second wins of the season.
The first game of the week took place in Peristeri (where Panelefsiniakos is playing their home games until they build a new arena) where the home team beat Kavala 87-74. The team from North Greece looks much weaker this season and they have already signed Greek veteran Giannis Gagaloudis while they could more players since their rotation gets stretched due to them competing in the Balkan League as well.
Probably the game of the week (if not for Panathinaikos-Olympiacos of course) took place at Patras where the home team of Apollon was downed by Drama in a dramatic fashion, 89-92 after an overtime. One of the noteworthy facts was the 28 points scored in first half by Apollon forward Vladimir Petrovic-Stergiou. However he could not keep up in second half as fatiguer took over (he spent 43:25 on the court).
On Sunday, Kolossos doubled their victories (49-65 over Ilysiakos) and proved to be a consistent team this season as well. Home side Ernest Scott was literally playing on himself as his teammates never stepped up to the challenge.
Another team kept their perfect record was Panionios who wasn’t troubled much by the visiting team of Peristeri, 79-65. Panionios enthusiastic youth duo of Pappas and Jankovic were the leaders again combining for twenty seven points.
PAOK showed they are on the right path as they beat Ikaros at home, 71-48. Although the Athenian team didn’t put up much of a fight, PAOK is slowly shaping into a decent team which can only get better as Lazaros Papadopoulos fully intigrates into the team and Billy Keys joins the team as the starting point guard.
Rethymno took their first win of the season beating Aris 68-50. Rethmyno continues being a very well-managed club while Aris could be in serious trouble if they don’t sign some American players who can make a difference and put the ball into the net. Their coach Vangelis Alexandris has been told he is under evaluation from now on.
Which bring us to the greatest ball game of Europe, which is non other than Panathinaikos vs Olympiacos. The Greek champions proved that they are the domestic bosses now, beating Panathinaikos away 60-64, a score which does not reflect on how easy The Reds achieved the win. Panathinaikos lacks chemistry, which is understandable after so many roster changes, but that does not excuse their coach for using really bad lineups and generally mismanaging his squad. Add to that the close to zero contrbution by Hilton Armstrong, the inability of Derwin Kitchen to adapt, the selfishness of Roko Ukic and you have a team in crisis.
{youtube}kdp02MZgQ4U{/youtube}
You can watch the entire game on the video above.
This current week could be crucial for the former Euroleague champions and many changes could occur, more than anyone would think. As for Olympiacos they bounced back after their tragic game in Istanbul for Euroleague and showed real character, with two former Panathinaikos players – Spanoulis and Perperoglou – being the cornerstones of their win at OAKA, something which does not coccur so often. However they too showed many weaknesses.
