Greek Basket League round-up (week 9)

Week 9 for the Greek Basket League, many great games, all reviewed below

Aris- Ilissiakos 75-64

Aris grabbed the win at home against struggling Ilissiakos. The game was physical and slow-paced during the first 20 minutes, since both teams tried to play consistent defense. The 1st quarter came to an end 18-18, and nothing really changed during the 2nd. The half found Aris leading 36-33.

The beginning of the second half was the key moment of the game, since Athinaiou hit 2 three-pointers in a row, Ilissiakos lost their concentration and Aris closed the quarter leading 59-44. From then on the away side could not return to the game and the final score indicates what really happened during the second half. MVP was Giannis Athinaiou who scored 19p. and 4 three-pointers. Anderson(15) was solid for the defeated side.

A.O. Trikala- Apollon Patras 68-65

Apollon caught Trikala off-guard and managed to close the first quarter leading 10-17. But from then on, Evans helped the home side to step up, defend well and end by the half leading 36-32.

Bolds was offensively great for Apollon Patras but Trikala kept leading the game, even taking a good lead +7 (55-48) by the end of the 3rd. The away side did not give up until the end, where they lost two shots from behind the arc while the score was 68-65, giving Trikala their 3rd win this season. Evans scored 14p and collected 8 rebs for the winning side, while Bolds did everything he could (16p, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals) for Apollon.

Panionios- Kolossos Rhodes 73-66

Panionios was better and managed to stop Kolossos’ 2-game winning streak. The home side was very concentrated and closed the first half leading 24-18. The same game style continued during the 2nd quarter, and when Kolossos was trying to close the gap, Panionios could easily find a way to stay in a safe distance. The first 20 minutes ended with Panionios leading 39-30.

Despite the fact that the Rhodians ran a 9-0 streak and took the lead 42-43 at the 25th minute, the “Red and Blue” found the way to bounce back and closed the quarter leading 57-49, having Carter and Saloustros in great shape. Marios Batis’ return in action was crucial for Panionios, who got threatened by the visitors but his captain’s experience and his critical 3-pointer sealed the deal for Panionios. MVP of the game was Carter with 21 points, while Papantoniou had 16 for Kolossos.

K.A.O. Dramas- A.G.O. Rethimno 83-82

Mid- table clash took place in Drama where the local team defeated AGOR in a dramatic match. The opening 10 minutes were very tight, with both teams trying to force their style of play. 18-17 was the score. The second quarter was quite the same, both team exchanging points and finally Rethimno took the lead 42-43.

Second half of the match, KAOD was a bit more consistent and had better offensive flow. However none of the two teams managed to take any big lead and the 3rd came to an end 61-60. The game was very tight until the closing stages of the 4th quarter, where KAOD took a 4 point lead 83-79. Hart scored a three-pointer but it was not enough for Rethimno, allowing the home side to walk away with the win. Jones had 19 for the winning side, Gabriel had 14 for AGOR.

A.E. Nea Kifissia- PAOK 95-86

PAOK was in a bad shape defensively, allowed AENK to score 95 points, and as a result, he was defeated. The opening quarter was very open with good basketball, giving the visitors the lead 19-22. The spectacular game continued during the second quarter, PAOK played a lot inside the paint offensively, but both teams did not focus at their defence at all. The half came to an end 38-41.

Coach Papatheodorou forced their players to defend during the second half, and play physically, as a result the home side took the lead 69-65 after the passage of 30 minutes played. PAOK’s fatigue did not allow them to go for the win against a very athletic and concentrated AENK, and the 4th quarter was a showdown on both sides for Kifissia. MVP was Crocker who scored 29 points and for PAOK Cooper had 20p.

Panelefsiniakos- Olympiacos 63-101

Olympiacos “refuses” to lose this season, having an outstanding 20/20 winning streak. This time Panelefsiniakos stood in his way, but Bartzokas’ team faced no difficulties. The European Champions made sure that their opponents will not threaten them at all, and quickly took a secure lead 13-28 by the end of the 1st quarter. The rest of the half was not any different since Printezis was on fire and the gap kept enlarging. The half ended with Olympiacos leading 32-57.

Not many things changed during the second half, where Bartzokas found the chance to rotate the players and give them the chance to show their skills. The final result was 63-101 and Olympiacos seems to be in great shape this season. MVP was Printezis who scored 24p and grabbed 10 rebs.

Panathinaikos- Ikaros Chalkidas 77-61

Panathinaikos only needed one quarter to defeat Ikaros and remain top of the League. The home team started very numb, allowing Ikaros to stay close to the score. 14-11 was the end of the first 10 minutes. Panathinaikos created a 23-13 lead by the start of the 2nd quarter, but the away side did not lose their concentration and closed the gap again to 6, 30-24 at the end of the half.

A 29-15 run during the 3rd quarter, gave Panathinaikos a 20-point lead 59-39 and eventually ended the game in favour of the Greek Champions. From then on, Ikaros tried to return to the game, but they did not manage to achieve it and Panathinaikos got an easy win, remaining atop of the league.MVP was Fotsis with 17 for the home side, Manolopoulos did his best for the visitors, scoring 17 points.