Greek Basket League round-up (week 8)

Panathinaikos remain top of the league, Olympiacos remain undefeated, but all the other teams are fighting on equal terms for a place to the playoffs, or a place to the next season Greek Basket League. All the games of the week reviewed below

Olympiacos- Aris 93-61

The “Reds” wanted to start strong, something they achieved, after recording a 9-4 run early on in the match. Aris attempted to close the gap but Olympiacos did not let their opponents to threaten them. The half came to a close 44-33, with the home team taking the lead they needed to be somewhat secure for the rest of the match.

However Aris had a great 3^rd period, defended very well and had great offensive composure, finally closing the gap to 5 points, (59-54) by the end of the quarter. From then on, Olympiacos did not allow Aris to come any closer, recorded a 34-7 partial score and finally grabbed the win, remaining unbeaten thus far in the season. Dunston scored 16 for the winners, collecting 7 rebounds too.

Kolossos Rhodes- A.E.Nea Kifissia 62-59

Dimitris’ Priftis first match on the bench for Kolossos was totally successful, since the Rhodians defeated AENK in a very close match. The game was very close from the first minute. After 10 minutes of play, the score was 13-14. The second quarter was not very different since both teams struggled to take a good lead but none of them achieved it. The half came to an end with AENK leading 26-28.

Tsaldaris and Kobodietas extended AENK’s lead by the start of the 3^rd quarter to 6 (28-34), but Kolossos ran a 10-1 offensive crescendo and took the lead. From then on the home side managed not to lose their advantage and close the quarter leading 45-42. The final 10’ of the game belonged to Kolossos that successfully controlled their lead, Tsamis’ defensive attempts and Stefanidis’ free throws during the end, gave them the win. Tsamis was MVP of the match, scoring 15p. but he helped in every aspect of the game. Crocker scored 17 for AENK and had another good game.

Apollon Patras- Panelefsiniakos 70-69

Apollon bounced back after two consecutive defeats, and emerged victorious against Panelefsiniakos. The home side started with a 13-7 run, but the visitors quickly recovered and took the lead by the end of the quarter (17-18). The second had a very fast pace, the two teams scored well, but Apollon took the lead on details 37-35.

The two teams were not able to make the difference, remained close  and the 3^rd quarter ended with Panelefsiniakos trailing by 1 (52-51).Hill  hit 2/2 free throws with almost one second left and Apollon celebrated the win in a very close game with lots of tactics from both coaches. Hill scored 18 for the winners,  while Turner was solid for the away side.

Ikaros Chalkidas- Panionios 73-80

Panionios needed one good half to beat Ikaros, recording their 6^th win this season and 3^rd away from Nea Smirni. After the first 10 minutes, the two teams were close 15-17. Panionios played even better during the second period, MacCollum “picked up his gun” and the away side quickly took a 10-point lead, and they maintained it until the end of the half, 30-40.

Ikaros managed to react to the good Panionios first half and finally cut the difference to 5, 48-53 by the end of the 3^rd. Ikaros good run continued, they even reduced the gap to 2 points, 57-59, but Panionios bounced back with a 8-0 run, and secured a relatively easy win, playing great basketball during the second half. MVP was Milbourne for Panionios who scored 16 with 4 made shots behind the arc. Gagaloudis was the leader for Ikaros, scored 21 points and did everything possible to take the win for his team, but he eventually ran out of stamina at the end.

PAOK- K.A.O. Dramas 82-65

KAOD caught their opponents off-guard and after their very good first quarter (19-19) they managed to score another 22 points against a good defensive team and eventually close the first half leading 40-41.

However, this season’s PAOK would not allow such a bad first half to be continued during the second and from then on they stepped up, had Cooper in great shape, scored a partial 20-8 run and closed the 3^rd leading 60-49. KAOD lost their composure, had no more energy to give, and PAOK fans pushed their team to an easy win during the 4^th quarter, 82-65. Cooper was the MVP with 19 points, while Vaughn had 18 for KAOD, who only managed to stand on their feet for 20 minutes.

A.G.O Rethimno- A.O. Trikala 79-77

Maybe the best game of the week took place in Rethimno where the local team managed to emerge winners after a very interesting game, forcing Trikala to record their 6^th defeat this season. The opening quarter found the two teams exchanging leads, but AGOR had an 11-5 run and closed the first 10 minutes strong, 26-21. Furthermore, the home side kept playing well and took a +9 lead 40-31. From then on, coach Flevarakis’ team changed their playing style, found offensive solutions, had a 19-6 run and the half came to a close 46-50.

Trikala kept playing well and it was their turn to have a plus 9 handicap (49-58). And again the team trailing, found the solution to return to the game, and the 3^rd quarter ended 64-64. Hurt’s dunk 30 seconds before the buzzer, gave the Cretans the win, since Petrovic did not hit the 3-pointer he attempted. Gabriel scored 17 for the winners, while Mutakkabir had 14 for the away side.

Ilissiakos- Panathiniakos 60-78

Easy win for Panathinaikos who now focuses to the “do or die’ match against Red Star for Euroleague. Despite the fact that the “Greens” were in front by the end of the 1^st quarter (14-20) Ilissiakos did not lose touch and by the 14^th minute they were trailing by 1 (21-22). Vlado Jankovic stepped in to the court and gave his team the energy they needed to take a secure lead 32-46 by the end of the half.

Ilissiakos did not manage to return to the game and Panathinaikos kept building their lead, closing the 3^rd in front 43-66. The last quarter had no real interest, even if the home side tried to reduce the gap. Jankovic was the MVP of the game scoring 19 and grabbing 5rebs. Stephens had 19 and 8 rebounds for the defeated side.