Rethymno shocks PAOK in Thessaloniki
PAOK said goodbye to any hopes it had for breaking into the top four of the Basket League’s regular season after going down at home to Rethymno, while leaders Olympiakos and Panathinaikos continued with rather hard-fought victories.
Rethymno scored its first away win this season beating PAOK 94-87 on Saturday in a high-scoring game played behind closed doors – obviously to the Cretans’ benefit – due to the fan action at the PAOK vs Aris derby. Rethymno has risen to ninth while PAOK is now seventh, five points behind fourth-placed Aris that impressed at Trikala winning 83-68.
Panathinaikos needed a strong second quarter to see off a combative Apollon Patras 87-81 in Athens on Monday, while Olympiakos overcame the resistance of host Lavrio – that led 41-37 halfway through the third quarter. The Reds won 71-55 on Monday for their 17th victory in 18 games, the same as Panathinaikos.
AEK, in third, showed its defensive quality under coach Jure Zdovc beating host Kavala 65-55 on Saturday.
Tripoli side Arkadikos scored only its fourth victory in the league beating visiting Kolossos Rhodes 77-67, but remains bottom of the table. Korivos steered clear of such trouble defeating Kifissia 87-77 at Amaliada.
The league continues in midweek with a full set of fixtures.
