The second week of the Greek league had some really interesting matches, but the most interesting was the Thessaloniki matchup between Aris and Paok. Read the review of all the games below.
Kolossos Rhodes-AGO Rethimno 66-76
Rethimno achieved their second win at the Greek Basket league, this time overtaking the obstacle of Kolossos Rhodes, with Hart leading the way with 25 points and an outstanding 6/7 3-point attempts. The most important moment of the game was the 18-0 run that the away team had during the 2nd quarter, giving them a 16-point lead. The 3rd quarter was even better for the “Cretans” who managed to get a 21-point lead, but Kolossos still seemed to be having pulse, managing to cut the lead to 14 by the end of the quarter. However Rethimno was patient offensively and well-organised at the defence, taking an easy win for 10 points.
Panionios-AO Trikala 69-62
After their big win for Eurocup within the week, Panionios remained undefeated this season, this time beating Trikala. “Neosmirniotes” started the game well, with Duvniak leading the way, but Trikala soon recovered, since Evans stepped up. However Panionios remained calm, played solid defence and went to the locker rooms up six at the half (34-28). The second half begun with Trikala making their comeback, and after a nervous beginning and a 3-point crescent from the away team, the score became even at 38-38. Panionios didn’t lose concentration and finally won the game during the 4th quarter, scoring almost all the free-throws attempted. The home team committed 21 turnovers, as a result of the fatigue of the players, but their good defence against Trikala gave them the win. McCollum was man of the match, Evans was the best for the away side.
Aris-PAOK 75-79 (AOT)
Paok emerged as winners at the Thessaloniki clash. Aris started the match better, and with Pelekanos leading the way, they had no opponent in the court, taking leads up to 10 points and the half closed with a 10-point Aris lead 38-28. However coach Markopoulos’ team talk was what PAOK needed to start a comeback during the second half. Bogris was unbeatable inside the paint, so PAOK closed the gap pretty quickly. However Aris was more passionate, managing to overtake the supremacy the away team had and even took a 3-point lead 43 seconds before the buzzer. Cooper hit a buzzer-beater 3pointer and Paok lead the game to extra time. During the last 5 minutes of the game, PAOK had more energy and better solutions all-around, defended hard and walked away with the win, avenging Aris for their cup elimination a week ago. Borgis was MVP of the match, Pelekanos was the best for Aris.
Ikaros Chalkidas- Apollon Patras 72-64
Ikaros managed their first win after moving to Chalkida, from their original home, Kallithea. Dominic Saton had a big game, for the home team scoring 15 points, collecting 17 rebounds and commiting only one turnover in 32 minutes of play. The first quarter was very close, with Ikaros taking the lead at the end 19-18. A 14-3 scoring run, gave Ikaros a 9-point lead at the end of the half (39-30). The rest of the game was not so exciting, since Ikaros defended well, didn’t commit many mistakes, and finally won the game 72-64, without any great difficulty. Argiropoulos was the best player for the defeated team, scoring 13 points and contributing defensively.
Ilissiakos-Olympiacos 57-78
Olympiacos beat Ilissiakos, not so easily as the final score shows, but the key were the many choices coach Bartzokas had, comparing to the one the home team could provide. Olympiakos took a 10-point lead from the first minutes and kept until the first minutes of the 3rd quarter, when Ilissiakos came close to 5 points (40-45). They also lost many shots that prevented them from closing the gap even more.The quarter came to a close with Olympiacos in front 44-51. However, the 4th quarter was dedicated to Olympiacos. The “Reds” had good ball movement, Ilissiakos couldn’t follow the fast pace Lojeski and Spanoulis had and the difference skied to 21 points within 8 minutes. Olympiacos had Matt Lojeski in a great day, he scored 21 points. On the other side, Hatzis scored 16 but the good teamwork for the team kept the lead at low levels for most of the game. The good news for the European champions was the return of Acie Law, who scored 7 points. and seems ready to join the team again.
AE Nea Kifissia-KAO Dramas 84-95
One of the best games thus far took place at Kifissia, between the local team and KAO Dramas. The game was open from beginning to end. Kifissia was ready and read the game well, managing a 19 points lead 29-10 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter belonged to the away team, who improved their defence, made less mistakes and finally reduced the gap to 7 (47-40). The comeback continued for KAOD and finally they managed to overtake AENK with a 11-2 run. The end of the quarter found the away team leading for 3 points (59-62). Polk scored 4 tree-pointers giving KAOD a +12 lead, and the game became fast and open, something that helped KAOD to secure the win by 11 points. Best player was Polk, with Chrisikopoulos following him, and for AENK, Crocker scored 30.
Panathinaikos-Panelefsiniakos 74-35
A one-sided game at the OAKA where Panathinaikos were victorious over Panelefsiniakos 74-35. The game was over almost as soon as the opening tip. The hosts raced to an 18-8 lead after the first quarter of play. Panathinaikos would go on to hold their opponents to single digit scores in three of the four quarters to record a comfortable win. Vladimir Jankovic led the winners with 12 points with Dimitris Diamantidis adding 11. Three Panelefsiniakos player record 7 points but none were able to reach double digit scores.