Your Greek league round up for week 23.

Panelefsiniakos- A.O.Trikala 94-77

The home team needed the win to distance themselves even more from the dangerous zone. As a result, they had an intense start that gave them a great 22-13 lead after 10’. Trikala have secured that they will be in the premier league next season, so they got in the game without any major interest. This was shown until the end of the half where Panelefsiniakos was in front 48-28.

Not many things changed after the break, the visitors had totally given up, and the 75-55 score after 3 periods was representative concerning the shape of the two sides. The closing quarter had no interest and with Kyles leading the way, the home team will reach the 7-17 record.

A.G.O.Rethimno- Panionios 64-67

Panionios reached the 41 points, securing the 3rd place for the regular season. Meanwhile AGOR lost ground on their attempt to enter the post-season. In a game that was predicted to be tight, Panionios tried to get an early lead and with good teamwork, they got in front 16-20. The home team applied pressure to their opponents, but their incapability to control the rebounds, cost them the lead. 35-37 was the halftime score.

The rhythm of the game did not really change after the break, with AGOR equalizing 45-45 and overtaking Panionios with a buzzer beater 3-pointer at the end of the quarter, 57-55. The last 10 minutes were very intense since the lead was changing hands throughout the 10 minutes, but Athanasoulas’ 3-pointer gave Panionios a +5 lead, 67-62 seconds before the end, but this time, Rethimno could not recover. Great game for Milbourne who had 13 points, in a game that Panionios successfully shared the rock offensively.

Kolossos Rhodes- Ilissiakos 72-60

In a game of life and death for the two teams, Kolossos emerged victorious and will be part of the next year’s Basket League, while Ilissiakos seems to be in big trouble. The Rhodians took advantage of their home court and despite Ilissiakos attempts, they were in front 20-16. The tight defense by the vistors only lasted of one and a half period, and from then on, Kolossos found the way to the opponent’s basket and closed the half leading 39-31.

The away team’s downfall continued after the break, since their mediocre shooting totals did not give them the chance to reduce the gap. Kolossos ended the 3rd period leading 55-43. From that point, Ilissiakos tried to recover, they reached within 7 points, but this was not enough for them, so Kolossos got a very important win. It was a great game from Smith who scored 17 with 14 rebounds.

Olympiacos 83-71 KAOD

Olympiacos kept the pressure on Panathinaikos at the top with a 12-point win over KAOD. The visitors though kept the Euroleague champions close throughout, but the Reds had enough strength in depth to secure the win.

Mardy Collins led Olympiacos with 14 points on the night. J’Covan Brown led all scorers with 29 points, including four triples.

PAOK 71-82 Panathinaikos

The Greens secured an 82-71 win on the road as they stayed on top of the A1 league against fourth-placed PAOK. A 21-11 swing in the second quarter was enough for the Greens to get the win as they prepare for their battle with bitter rivals Olympiacos in the Euroleague this week.

Five Panathinaikos players reached double-digits, but Stephane Lasme led all with 20 points.

Apollon 75-67 Nea Kifisia

Mid-table Apollon stormed out the blocks in the third quarter to beat Nea Kifisia in Patra. A 28-13 blitz from the hosts sealed the deal as they held on to make things interesting in the top half.

Andreja Milutinovic was outstanding at both ends of the floor as he amassed 14 points to lead the winners.

Ikaros 77-88 Aris

Greek Cup finalists Aris are up to sixth following an 88-77 road win at second-from-bottom Ikaros. The visitors breezed clear in a one-sided first quarter to lead 36-19 and from there, Aris looked comfortable against a woeful offence.

Michalis Pelekanos had 25 points to lead Aris.