Basketball giants at loggerheads one week before tip-off
One week before the scheduled match-up of Olympiakos with Panathinaikos, the Greens strolled to an easy home win over Panionios to extend their perfect domestic record further for this season. The win of the weekend belonged to Kolossos though.
The Greens won 96-71 at home over Panionos on Sunday for their 18th victory in as many Basket League games this season. “It was like the Christians against the lions”, was the telling comment of Panionios coach Vassilis Frangias.
Olympiakos visits Lavrio on Monday, but the question is whether next Sunday’s Derby of the Eternal Rivals will take place, as Olympiakos insists on the game being officiated by foreign referees, which Panathinaikos opposes and has also led to a warning by the Greek referees that if foreign peers of theirs are recruited for the game they will stop officiating in the league. Another problem is that the match has been scheduled for the same day as the soccer derby between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos, with two hours’ difference.
Back onto the court action, Kolossos produced a huge win at Thessaloniki on Saturday. The Rhodes team, that remains bottom of the table, has beaten Aris 81-75 to renew its survival hopes.
The other team in the drop zone, Rethymno, very nearly capitalized on the fatigue of Promitheas due to its Champions League match against Tenerife three days earlier, but the Patra team eventually won 86-81 in overtime.
Ifaistos Limnou did upset Peristeri though, winning 77-73 and consolidating itself in seventh in what is only the first season of its existence as a club.
Ahead of their second Champions League face-off on Wednesday, AEK and PAOK scored away wins: AEK defeated Holargos 81-70 and PAOK dismissed Kymi 90-73.
