Panathinaikos claim first win since Pedoulakis exit; Peristeri beat PAOK
Panathinaikos defeated Ionikos Nikaia in the Basket League in the first match since the exit of Argyris Pedoulakis, while Peristeri defeated PAOK to earn a sixth victory in seven games.
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PANATHINAIKOS 107-71 IONIKOS NIKAIA
Panathinaikos got back to winning ways after their EuroLeague setback with a simple 107-71 win against Ionikos Nikaia at home.
In their first game since the dismissal of former head coach Argyris Pedoulakis, the Prasini were barely given any kind of test by Nikaia, comfortably breezing to victory while displaying excellent attacking basketball. Panathinaikos immediately put themselves in the box seat by winning the first quarter by 11 points.
Tyrese Rice was the leading Panathinaikos scorer with 21 points. Panathinaikos remain undefeated in the Basket League, while Nikaia have four wins and three defeats in seven games.
IRAKLIS 68-77 AEK
AEK are well and truly back on form under the guidance of Ilias Papatheodorou. On Saturday, the Kitrinomavri had too much power for Iraklis in Thessaloniki, claiming an important 77-68 victory.
Keith Langford, who has been superb for AEK since joining from Panathinaikos in the summer, once again took a leading role with a huge 35 points. Nikos Gkikas (12 points) and Stefan Jankovic (10 points) also reached double figures for AEK.
Both AEK and Iraklis now have three wins in seven Basket League games.
IFAISTOS LIMNOU 85-59 ARIS
The misery continues for Aris. In late September, Aris had started the season with a derby win against PAOK, but they have subsequently conceded six games on the bounce in the Basket League to fall to last place.
Ifaistos Limnou, who snapped their three-game losing streak, won all four periods to ease to victory at home. Mario Little tallied 18 points for Ifaistos as they were far too strong for an Aris side which is now firmly in crisis.
RETHYMNO CRETAN KINGS 70-63 PROMITHEAS
On the continental front, Promitheas had conceded a heavy defeat to Monaco in the EuroCup midweek, and they lost against on Saturday with the Rethymno Cretan Kings earned a seven-point victory.
Following losses in all of the opening three periods, Promitheas did win the fourth by five points, but Rethymno held on to the win with little fuss. Promitheas are in third position of the table with five wins in seven matches, while improving Rethymno now have two victories on the board.
Andreas Christodoulou scored 16 points, collected four rebounds and dished out two assists for Rethymno.
PANIONIOS 71-77 LAVRIO
Lavrio have been one of the surprises of the Basket League season so far. With three quarters in the books against Panionios, the visitors were down by a couple of points, but they came back to win the fourth 23-15 and snatch a fifth victory in seven games. Panionios, on the other hand, only possess two victories in the league.
Quenton Decosey stood out for Lavrio as he registered 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
KOLOSSOS RODOU 80-83 LARISA
Newly-promoted Larisa have their second win. A trip to Rhodes for a game against Kolossos is never easy, but Larisa played effective basketball to win the second and third quarters by a combined total of 12 points - which in turn allowed them to earn a victory.
This is Kolossos’ fourth loss of the campaign.
Lasannah Kromah of Kolossos was the top scorer of the match with 26 points.
PERISTERI 85-80 PAOK
In a fascinating encounter, these clubs did win two periods each, but a wonderful first half from Peristeri was enough to emerge victorious as they ended up winning the duel by five points in front of their home supporters.
Peristeri have won six of the first seven Basket League matches. PAOK only have two victories.
Scoochie Smith and Kingsley Moses both gained 15 points for the winners.
