The 5th week of the season is just completed, many interesting things went on this weekend, all reviewed below.
Apollon Patron – A.G.O. Rethymno 82-73
The game that got the week underway, took place in Patra, where the local team achieved their 3rd win this season, this time against the athletic team of AGOR. The home team started strong and took an 8-point lead by the end of the 1st quarter (24-16). AGO Rethymno stepped up, Pruitt led the way and finally the visitors took a fair lead of 7points at the end of the half, 35-42
Despite the fact that Apollon was more concentrated at the beginning of the second half. However Rethymno hung on to their lead and at the 30th minute they had a small lead, 54-55. The 4th quarter totally belonged to Apollon, who scored a 16-1 run and took an 11-point lead that, eventually was enough for them to walk away with the win. Bolds had another great game scoring 21, and for the away side Pruit scored 23 points.
AO Trikala – Ikaros Chalkidas 100-65
AO Trikala chose a very emphatic way to win their first match this season, by outplaying Ikaros 100-65. Not much to say as the score says it all, the home team started strong with a 18-2 run, and the same pace continued all along the first half, which came to an end, with Ikaros trailing by 10 (45-35).
Another great quarter for Trikala brought them up front by 15 at the end of the 3rd (67-52). Good transition and high field-goal percentage were the main factors for this domination. The 4th quarter was more like practice for the home team, who kept up their pace and met no difficulties until the end.Everyone now in the team hope that the team will find its way and escape from the dangerous zone of relegation. Man of the match was Evans for Trikala, scoring 25 and grabbing 7 rebs, sharing 4 assists and stealing the ball twice. Shaton stood up for the defeated team, scoring 12 and collecting 10 rebounds, recording a double-double.
KAO Dramas – Ilissiakos 76-73
Another win for KAOD, 3rd this season, this time against Ilissiakos who put up a fight but couldn’t hold on until the end. Everytime KAOD was taking a lead, Ilissiakos managed to comeback. For first time this happened when KAOD took a 27-18 lead at the 12th minute. Ilissiakos defended well and equalised, but KAOD took another 8-point lead that concluded the half (42-34).
At the second half, Ilissiakos did not gave up, even when KAOD built an 8-point lead at 37. Ioannou cut the lead to 1 point 74-73, but KAOD sealed the deal with a follow shot by Bavcic. Mvp of the game was Bavcic, who scored, grabbed rebounds and played physically. Most active player was Smith for the away side.
Panelefsiniakos – Kolossos Rhodes 97-69
Kolossos only managed to follow Panelefsiniakos for 20′ since the home side stepped on the throttle during the second half.The opening quarter was an offensive manifest with both team scoring non-stop, a gamestyle Kolossos forced and took the lead 20-16.Elefsina corrected their mistakes, cut the lead to 3 (39-42) by the end of the half and managed to keep in touch with their opponents.
However Panelefsiniakos caught Kolossos off guard, defended strongly, decreased the opponent’s shot percentage and finally walked away with the win, playing their best half by far this season, powering up all the aspects of their game, after the team talk at the half. Turner and Jones scored 15 for Elefsina, Osby scored 17, collected 9 rebounds, playing all alone through the second half.
Aris – Panionios 63-65
The cup semi-final prequel took place this Sunday at “Nick Gallis Hall” and Panionios emerged as winners, even if they played without Batis and Athanasoulas, who are injured.The first half belonged to Aris, who was continuously adding points, and was forcing Panionios to commit many turnovers. The half came to a close with Aris leading 29-20, but that was not enough for them.
Panionios was not better offensively at the second half, but defended very well, grabbed consecutive offensive rebounds, and finally cut the lead to 3 points at the end of the 3rd quarter. The last 10 minutes of the game were dramatic, with both teams grabbing the lead by 1 or 2 points, but Uros Duvnjak was the one who scored the final lay-up for his side. Athinaiou missed the 3-pointer and Panionios walked away with a huge win, Sfairopoulos claimed that Panionios can play even better. Man od the Match was Duvnjak who scored 20 points. Athinaiou,an ex-Panionios player, scored 22 also collecting 3 rebs for Aris.
AE Nea Kifissia – Panathinaikos 65-88
Panathinaikos dominated AENK in a game with great atmosphere and nice basketball, especially from Panathinaikos.The “Greens” started the game strong, took their chances from behind the arc, and closed the 1st quarter leading by 18, 10-28. The away side did not keep scoring so much, but their defensive pressure was intense, forcing AENK to commit many turnovers. The half ended with PAO leading 27-45, making it clear that they were the bosses of the game.
The second half was mostly a good trainig for Panathinaikos who kept scoring, made their defence a little less effective, and finally secured the win without really being threatened. Panathinaikos’ coach Argiris Pedoulakis decleared that the team is is good shape, and possible bad games are a result of contiuous travelling across Europe. Curry scored 18 for the Greek Champions, Crocker scored 20 for the losing side.
Olympiacos – PAOK 78-70
The two teams without a loss this season in the League, Olympiacos and PAOK, faced off for the final game of the week, that emerged Olympiacos victorious, but PAOK was very positive. The game started with PAOK trying to take control, taking advantage of the empty SEF stadium because of Olympiacos punishment since last season’s Playoff Finals. The away side managed to take the lead at the end of the 1st quarter, 16-20.Spanoulis was not in a good mood, however Olympiacos had Lojeski in great shape, and finally grabbed the lead at the end of the half 37-36.
The “Reds” took a 5-point lead at the 25th minute (48-43) but PAOK stayed close to the home side, closing the 3rd quarter trailing for 1 point 56-55.Finally, Olympiacos stepped up, defended well and had more patience offensivelly, forcing PAOK to lose after an intense game. Printezis scored 21, gave Olympiacos the boost they needed and grabbed 11 rebounds. On the other side, Cooper scored 18, with 7 rebs and 7 assists.
