Championship rematches, family rivalries renewed, and a battle of the unbeatens leaves one unbeaten team in St. Thomas.
As we close the book on the month of October, the unofficial first third of the Del Val GOYA Basketball League wrapped up this weekend in St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church in Cherry Hill. The day featured four varsity matchups, four unbeaten teams, and a lot of headlines.
It would begin with a rematch of last year’s thrilling girls’ championship between the defending champions of Evangelismos Philadelphia and the runners-up from Holy Trinity Egg Harbor.
The second matchup of the day would feature two long-time family rivals in the nicknamed “Koumbari Bowl,” with the defending boys’ champions of Evangelismos taking on the struggling Holy Trinity boys.
Later afternoon games would showcase the hosts from St. Thomas against the visiting St. George Media. The girls’ game would be a rematch of last year’s third-place game, while the boys’ game would be a showdown between two early-season unbeaten teams battling for the top spot in the DVGOBL Boys’ standings.
If you’re a fan of Greek basketball in the Delaware Valley, Cherry Hill was the place to be this Sunday.
Game 1 – Holy Trinity (EHT) Girls vs. Evangelismos Girls
In a rematch of last year’s instant classic, the girls from Evangelismos, coming off a tough opening game loss to St. Demetrios last weekend, would look to rebound against their long-time rivals from the shore in Holy Trinity. For the girls in blue, who have started off hot yet again this season, the game would prove to be their toughest test to date.
Led by the young standout Marianna Papazoglou, Holy Trinity jumped out to an early lead. The defending champs would show their resilience, however. Led by Alexis Nakos, the girls in black hung tough throughout the game, cutting the lead to four in the second half.
That is as close as this game would get; however, as foul trouble would cause the champs’ comeback effort to fall short, in a hard-fought game that could, yet again, prove to be a playoff preview come January. Fortunately for us, we won’t have to wait that long, as the two teams, placed in the same division this year, will face off again in two weeks in Egg Harbor.
Final score – Holy Trinity 20, Evangelismos 12.
Game 2 – Holy Trinity (EHT) Boys vs. Evangelismos Boys
In the second game of the day, the boys’ defending champions from Evangelismos, fresh off an impressive opening game victory against a tough St. D’s team, looked to continue their momentum against the boys from Egg Harbor, who, like last year, have struggled to start the season.
As is typical in this great rivalry, records often don’t matter when these two teams face off. The defending champs, led by youngster John Armentani and standout guard Joel Mattos, relied on their speed and ability to finish at the rim to generate waves of offense throughout the game.
However, the boys in blue kept pace with the champions, led by senior forward Saki Mertis and the strong outside shooting of George Arsenis. The game went back and forth from start to finish, with each team making runs. When the dust settled, it was the boys from Egg Harbor who emerged victorious with an upset.
Just like the girls, these two teams will face off again in the second round of this intense rivalry in two weeks.
Final score – Holy Trinity 45, Evangelismos 40.
Game 3 – St. Thomas Girls vs. St. George Girls
Speaking of great rivalry matchups, the third game of the day featured two teams who have played some incredible games over the past few years. The thrilling double-overtime semi-final classic of 2014 and the equally amazing championship game of 2015 have set the stage for this as one of the great contests of the girls’ season each year.
This year, both teams headed into this contest coming off losses to currently unbeaten teams. St. Thomas had to start off with not one, but two games against Holy Trinity, while St. George played a tough St. Luke’s team after suffering their first loss of the young season.
On the day, it would be the girls from St. Thomas, led by Maria Kokolis, who would squeak by in yet another close contest. St. George held strong throughout, led by reigning MVP Christina Bourantas, but ultimately fell just one bucket short. It proved to be a contest of two great teams on Sunday.
The girls from St. Thomas will look to ride their momentum into their contest with St. Luke in two weeks, while the girls from St. George will head to St. Demetrios to face Upper Darby on November 13th.
Final Score – St. Thomas 20, St. George 18.
Game 4 – St. Thomas Boys vs. St. George Boys
In the primetime game of the day, the hosts from St. Thomas aimed to extend their strong 2-0 start in a matchup with the equally impressive 2-0 St. George boys, contesting for the top spot in the boys’ division.
St. Thomas relied on their solid interior play in their victories over Holy Trinity early on, while St. George’s team has depended on their speed and hot shooting to win their first two games. Notably, they pulled off what many considered an upset over championship favorites St. Luke last week.
The question was, which style would prevail?
Ultimately, it was the visiting St. George boys, led by the hot shooting of Chrisovalantis Apostolopoulos, who emerged victorious in convincing fashion. St. Thomas fought hard, guided by senior big man Kosta Dambalas, but foul trouble and St. George’s shooting prowess proved too much on the day.
This win puts St. George at the top of the standings heading into a significant Week 5 matchup against St. Demetrios in two weeks. Meanwhile, the loss drops St. Thomas to 2-1 before their game against St. Luke’s on November 13th.
Final Score – St. George 53, St. Thomas 38.
The league will take one week off this coming weekend to celebrate the award recipients for the Metropolitan Ambassador’s banquet but stay tuned to Cosmos Philly for all the future action as we near the halfway point of the 2016-2017 DVGOBL season.