Upper Darby, PA – The chairs and stage were filled again at St. Demetrios, as the PGBL entered its second week of the season. A brief ceremony by father Economos Panagiotis Lekkas kicked off the evening.
Warriors 42 vs. Mavs 24
After a disappointing performance last week, the Warriors recovered tonight with a cruise control victory over the Mavs. Leading the way was Will Galiatsatos with 12 points and Nick Karalis with 9. The Warriors are 1-1 with a game next week against the Kings, who always are tough. Hopefully the Warriors can use this win as a momentum builder and roll into next week with confidence.
As for the Mavs, not many great things to recap for these guys but I will focus on the positives. Gus Haralambou and Dino Thomazos were not present tonight, and surely that hurt the team. If these guys were in the lineup, the offense would have been smoother and we may have had a different outcome. The Mavs should move forward and prepare for the Kings this Sunday.
Game ball: Will Galiatsatos
Wolfpack 65 vs. Rip City 48
This was a battle of the 2 top teams in the PGBL right now. One of those teams showed why they’re the best. The Wolfpack pulled away late in the game thanks to some big late 3 pointers in the second half by George Vlahos, who scored 23 to lead the Pack. Also hitting some big 2nd half buckets was Nicko Papatsiaras. 2 threes late in the game helped put the Blazers away. Great game and great defense by these guys, they showed why they’re my number 1 ranked team.
The reason Rip City lost this game is simple. Too many turnovers in the second half. If these guys took care of the ball, the outcome may have been different. This game was closer than the score indicates though, mainly a single digits game until the Pack pulled away towards the end. Jim Armenakis led his team with 16 points with a solid job offensively, followed by Nicko Balis with 11. If these guys clean up the turnovers and play more efficiently late in games, they could be my number 1 team.
Game ball: George Vlahos
Spartans 40 vs. Ellas 22
The Spartans are on the board early with a nice W to start out the season. 1-0 sounds pretty good if you’re on the green team. Andrew Milonas led the team with 15 points to an easy win over the former FOB squad. We saw the return of Alex Zikos, former defensive player of the year. He definitely will give the Spartans a boost in that category, something they struggled with last season. Good job and good luck to this group of good guys.
The Motherland team couldn’t pull out a win tonight but we saw a solid performance from George Pantzaris who led the team with 9 points and over 10 rebounds. George would have scored 16 but had a little trouble shooting 1-8 from the foul line. Fix that problem and Ellas will have a better chance at staying in games. I’m sure Ellas would like another crack at the Spartans and they’ll get it since these teams are now divisional rivals.
Game ball: Andrew Milonas
Written by Mr. PGBL