Greek Basket League round-up (week 17)

Another weekend gone by in the Greek Basket League, all games reviewed below:

Kolossos Rhodes- Panelefsiniakos 67-57

Kolossos had Stefanidis in great shape, and after a close first half, finally dominated their opponents at home after an intense 3^rd quarter where the Rhodians had a 20-6 run. Good game for Nestoras Kommatos too, who grabbed 9 rebounds, dominating the boards. For Panelefsiniakos, Faye scored 25 but he was all alone.

Panionios-Aris 63-68

Huge win on the road for Aris, that achieved to beat Panionios again, after the cup semi-final. The home side had a good start but never managed to take any safe lead, with the score on the half being 33-31. Panionios was clearly tired after their game in Ninzi for Eurocup, lack of energy, and a great game for the ex-Panionios player Giannis Athinaiou, pushed Aris to the win during the 4^th period. MVP of the game was Athinaiou who scored 16 points, while McCollum had his first bad game with the team scoring only 10, the lowest for him thus far.

Ikaros Chalkidas- A.O.Trikala 81-74

A good start from Trikala game them an early lead that lasted until the halftime, when they were leading 32-42. After that, Ikaros changed his pace, had better offensive choices and overtook their opponents before the 25^th minute of the game. From then on they controlled the game and got the important win at home. Richards was MVP of the game scoring 16 points but recorded a double-double after collecting 12 rebounds being uncontested inside the paint. Evans had 19 for the defeated side.

Ilissiakos-K.A.O.Dramas 70-74

A heartbreaking match took place in Athens where Ilissiakos did not manage to avoid the relegation zone after losing from KAOD. The game was very tight until the last minutes of it. During the 4^th quarter, KAOD took a plus 6 lead, the home team recovered but KAOD had one last 4-0 run securing the win that left Ilissiakos at the final spot of the League Table alongside AGOR and Ikaros Chalkidas. MVP of the game was Brown who scored 21 points while Pigram stood up for Ilissiakos scoring 23 and keeping his team in touch with their opponents throughout the game.

A.G.O.Rethimno- Apollon Patras 92-72

AGOR dominated Apollon Patras, recording a very important win. Despite the home side’s good start, their opponents managed to turn the game on their side taking a small lead at halftime, 42-36. Until the end of the 3^rd quarter (62-54), the away team was able to follow AGOR and have a chance for the win. However a great 4^th quarter gave the home side an emphatic win. Gabriel scored 33 points leading the way for his team, while Bolds had 21.

P.A.O.K.-Olympiacos 72-74

A heart-breaking game took place in Pylaia where PAOK fought until the end but did not take the win against the European Champions. The home team started the game very well but Olympiacos recovered and overtook PAOK by the end of the half (37-40). The second half was tighter with both team looking for a good run. PAOK achieved it and built a 9-point lead, 8 minutes before the end but the “Reds” defended very well, allowing Jamario Moon to put his signature to a big win.Moon was also the MVP of the game while most valuable player was Charalambides scored 17 for the home team.

Panathinaikos-A.E.Neas Kifissias 72-59

With raised morale after the Cup Final, Panathinaikos had an explosive start, taking a plus 9 lead by the end of the 1^st quarter, and extended it during the 2^nd, going to the locker room leading 42-21. From then on Kifissia did not try to follow their opponents, allowing them to have an easy Sunday evening. MVP of the game was Maurokefalidis with 13 points with Pappas (10) and Jankovic (11) following.