Peristeri continue winning; Dikefaloi pair lose on the road
Peristeri BC, Lavrio, Iraklis, Ifaistos Limnou and Ionikos Nikaia all emerged victorious in their respective matches on Saturday as the third round of the 2019/2020 Basket League season got started.
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PERISTERI 95-69 PANIONIOS
The Peristeri train is showing no signs of stopping. In what was yet another dominant performance, Peristeri simply had too much quality for a gritty Panionios team at the Andreas Papandreou Arena, claiming a confident 95-69 victory to win their third successive game in the Basket League.
To their credit, struggling Panionios stuck with Peristeri in the first half and were only trailing by six points after 20 minutes. However, Peristeri subsequently began to run away with the game in the final two quarters, punishing slack Panionios shooting with excellent, effective attacking play. Popular captain Panagiotis Vasilopoulos took a leading role for Peristeri with 11 points, four assists and four rebounds.
Scoochie Smith (16 points), Will Hatcher (13 points), Gaios Skordilis (13 points), Christos Saloustros (12 points) and Moses Kingsley (10 points) also impressed for the home team.
Peristeri will now prepare to make their Basketball Champions League bow against Gaziantep on Tuesday.
KOLOSSOS RODOU 73-74 LAVRIO
Kolossos Rodou were on the verge of defeating Lavrio in an exciting encounter at home, but Glynn Watson drained a late three-pointer to snatch a 74-73 victory for the visitors.
Kolossos began the season with a victory against Panionios in late September, but since that game, the Rhodes-based outfit have conceded two consecutive losses. As expected, it was a hotly-contested battle with Lavrio, and Donovan Jackson converted one of two free throws to extend the Kolossos lead to two points with 30 seconds left to play. Nevertheless, with the clock running down, Watson hit the target from behind the arc to seal Lavrio’s second win of the season.
IRAKLIS 74-56 RETHYMNO
Newly-promoted Iraklis are rolling. Coming off the back of a morale-boosting win against Aris, Iraklis continued moving in the right direction with an emphatic 74-56 triumph over the Rethymno Cretan Kings in Thessaloniki.
Rethymno initially won the first quarter by five points, but Iraklis came roaring back to win all of the remaining three periods. Conner Frankamp of Rethymno finished as the leading scorer of the match with 23 points to his name.
IFAISTOS LIMNOU 72-68 AEK
AEK, who showed promise against Kolossos Rodou last week after an opening-day thrashing to Panathinaikos, fell apart in the fourth quarter to concede a surprise 72-68 loss to Ifaistos Limnou on the road.
The Enosis were leading by eight points after 30 minutes. It seemed a certainty that AEK would successfully see the game out, but Ifaistos Limnou had other ideas, as they won the concluding quarter 24-12 to earn an important victory. Sean Evans tallied a double-double for Ifaistos Limnou with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
IONIKOS NIKAIA 83-66 PAOK
Despite being forced to play inside an empty Sofia Befon Indoor Hall, Ionikos Nikaia made a statement of their intentions in the Basket League with a big 83-66 victory against PAOK.
The fourth quarter was the key for Nikaia. The game was still very much in the balance after three periods, but Ionikos Nikaia ran riot in the fourth, restricting PAOK to just four points while scoring 20 at the other end. Loukas Mavrokefalidis caught the eye with 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the home side.
Ionikos Nikaia have started their first season back in the top flight with two wins from three matches.
