Aris beats AEK to rise to third in Basket League
Aris beat AEK for a second time this season and has regained the third place from the Athens club, as the two teams appear destined to fight it out for that spot all the way till the end of the play-offs.
AEK had the upper hand for most of the game at the Nick Galis Hall in Thessaloniki, hoping to avenge its home loss earlier in the season, but a spirited fightback by Aris gave it a 77-76 win on Sunday.
Leaders Olympiakos and Panathinaikos enjoyed easy home wins on Monday: The Reds thrashed bottom side Kavala 115-61 and the Greens defeated Lavrio 94-56.
PAOK put an end to its six-game losing streak winning 68-66 at struggling Arkadikos on Saturday to get locked in a four-way tie with Kolossos, Rethymno and Apollon Patras, all of whom also won on Saturday: Kolossos beat visiting Trikala 79-69, Rethymno overcame Korivos Amaliadas 75-67, and Apollon downed fifth-placed Kifissia 73-66.
With five games left to play in the regular season, five teams will fight it out to avoid relegation: Trikala and Korivos are on 28 points, Lavrio has 27, Arkadikos is on 26 and Kavala has 25. The bottom two will go down.
The league will now take a one-week break as on Sunday, March 6, will see the Greek Cup final between Panathinaikos and second-tier Faros Keratsiniou at the Olympic Sports Hall in Athens.
