All four teams doubled their wins and proceeded to the next round of the Greek Basket League play-offs. Read full review of the games below:
A.E.Neas Kifissias- P.A.O.K. 75-79
End of the road for AENK, since they could not beat PAOK and bring the series to the 3rd game. However their season was an absolute success since this was their first year in the Greek Basket League. On the other side, PAOK that aims to conquer the 3rd position in the League, was looking to take control of the game from the first minutes, and they achieved it with good shooting totals, and a plus 6, (17-23) after 10 minutes. The difference between the two sides during the first half was quite big, with the home team being unable to control the rhythm and keep PAOK close. Tsaldaris heroics however will relatively close the gap, 31-42 at half time.
Kifissia ready to make their final stand at their homeground, got in the game and surprised their opponents, scoring some easy fast break points, and dominating the board. After 30 minutes, the lead for PAOK was 56-60. The visitors tried to hold on to their lead, doing their best to stay in front. 1 minute and 15 seconds before the end, with the score 68-69, AENK coach Ilias Papathedorou and Vasiljevic were both charged with Technical Foul, and PAOK found the opportunity to end the game in their favor. MVP for PAOK was Charalambides who had 23 points, while Tsaldaris had 14 for the home team. The team from Thessaloniki now faces Panathinaikos in the semi-finals.
K.A.O.Dramas- Panionios 71-81
Big win on the road for Panionios who made the comeback and promoted to the next round of the Greek play-offs. The home team started very well, set their own pace to the game and scored some easy points early on, leading 25-13 at the end of the 1st period. Bad shape for the visitors during the rest of the half, with KAOD trying to secure the win by defending well and having good shooting totals.45-31 was the halftime score with Brown leading the way.
After the break, a totally different Panionios team appeared on the court. The team from Athens played tight defense, controlled the rebounds and with Marc Carter shooting very well behind the arc, they overtook the Dramians 57-59 after 30’. The home team could not react to that comeback, Panionios controlled the game and got the win that will bring them against Olympiacos for the semi-finals. Marc Carter was the best player of the game with 27 points, 7 three-pointers and 5 rebounds. On the other side, coach Markovic seemed to be satisfied from his team’s attempt, stating that the season was successful for them
Aris- Olympiacos 59-74
Easy night for the “Reds” as they beat Aris and proceed to the next round. Aris seemed unable to handle Olympiacos right from the beginning since they could never gain control of the rebounds that was the major problem for them alongside their bad shooting totals. 8-17 was the score of the first period. Aris tried to recover, forced Olympiacos to some turnovers, but even then, they could not find a good offensive pace, resulting the visitors to hold on to their lead, 26-36.
After halftime break, home team tried to close the gap even more, but with no result, since they opened up more than they should, giving their opponents the chance to finish them off. 40-59 was the score after 3 periods of basketball. From that point, the home team gave up on the game, since they were out of solutions. Spanoulis scored 15 for Olympiacos and Perperoglou scored 10.
Panathinaikos- Apollon Patras 67-82
Panathinaikos met no difficulties against Apollon, swept the team from Patra and moved on to the next round. The Greek Champions managed to get the lead to the game early on, catching Apollon off-guard. 11-19 was the score after 10 minutes, with the visitors not stopping there. They found the open shots they were looking for, extended the lead to double digits but a good last minute from Apollon, reduced the gap to 9, 29-38.
Good start at the second half for Panathinaikos as always, they controlled the game’s pace and got a 45-58 lead after 3 periods. With Diamantidis and Maurokefalidis leading the way both offensively and in defense, the “Greens” put the game to bed right from the start of the 4th. Diamantidis scored 16 points, while Ross had 23 for the defeated side.
