Aris shocks the Greens on Basket League’s start

The new Basket League has started with a bang, as champion Panathinaikos suffered a huge upset at Aris on Sunday and is already in crisis after its losing start in the Euroleague too.

Aris stunned its visitor in Thessaloniki, as it came back from 19 points down at half-time (43-24) to win the game 81-71 through a partial 57-28 in the second half.

The Greens’ main challenger Olympiakos was pressured by AEK for the first three quarters of the match at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus, but eventually won comfortably 103-78 on its return to the top flight after spending the last couple of seasons in the A2 division.

Last season’s finalist Lavrio had an emphatic performance at PAOK on Saturday, winning 89-73.

Promitheas Patras braved the resistance of host Peristeri to win 88-81, while fellow Patra team Apollon saw off Ionikos Nikeas 80-72 in its first match after its promotion.

The tightest of the weekend’s game was between Larissa and Kolossos Rhodes, which went to overtime with the host winning 81-77.