Wilmington, DE – The St. Demetrios and St. George boys teams exchanged three-point buckets to start off the GOYA championship contest last night. For a brief moment, it appeared St. Demetrios would make a game of it, but that was it. The two teams were never this close again, as St. George turned on all cylinders and quickly jumped out to a 25-9 first period lead. They did it by sticking to a formula they’ve followed all year, run-run-run. Their fast-paced, fast-break offense has been their insignia all year and has knocked out their opponents early on, and they applied it again here, against St. Demetrios.
St. Demetrios fought back in the second period holding St. George to just six points and closing the gap. They did it by forcing St. George to shoot from the perimeter and boxing out. But it was to no avail, as St. George picked up right where it left off in the third period. St. Demetrios simply couldn’t keep up. Valanti Apostolopoulos was unstoppable for St. George. He quietly racked up 34 of his teams 63 total points and led all scores. St George swept by St. Demetrios, who could not find a way to keep pace. The St. George boys took home their second championship and finished the season undefeated. Final score: St. George 63, St. Demetrios 46.
The girls’ GOYA championship featured Holy Trinity of Wilmington and St. Thomas of Cherry Hill. St. Thomas got off to a great start by quickly jumping out to an eight-point lead in the first period while holding Holy Trinity scoreless. In fact, they held Holy Trinity scoreless in the 1st half and continued building their lead that ended at 18-0 in the first half.
The second half was a repeat of the first. High pressured defense and fast breaks led to steals and turnovers that St. Thomas converted. Klio Kokolis and Katerina Pratsinakis of St. Thomas led all scores with 15 of the teams’ total points. The undefeated girls of St. Thomas were a favorite this year and did not disappoint, as they were crowned champs of the Girls GOYA with their decisive victory. Final score: St. Thomas 26, Wilmington 6.