Upper Darby, PA – The latest crowns in GOYA basketball were attained on Sunday night at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox church, where the boys and girls championships took place. The St. Thomas girls of Cherry Hill, NJ and St. George boys of Media, PA brought home victories to conclude the 2018-2019 season.

Girls: St. Thomas vs. St. Demetrios

The St. Thomas girls of Cherry Hill, NJ, ranked number one and undefeated the whole season stayed the course and brought home their latest championship as they defeated the St. Demetrios girls team of Upper Darby, PA.

Playing a zone defense and running a fast break offense the whole evening was perhaps the difference for St. Thomas. The aggressive half-court attack throughout the first half by St. Thomas, led to more than ten turnovers by St. Demetrios, who fell behind 15-9 at half time.

Alexia Loucas of St. Demetrios put on a one-woman show through much of the game, as she was nearly unstoppable. St. Demetrios made a late run in the third quarter, pulling within three points. St. Demetrios ran out of steam when it came to getting back to their defensive positions too often and continued to turn the ball over.

Final score: St. Thomas 34, St. Demetrios 23

Boys: St. George vs. Evangelismos

The 21-year drought is over! The St. George boys basketball team of Media, PA, finally has something to celebrate. It’s been nearly a generation since they’ve claimed a GOYA title and they did with first-year head coach George Apostolopoulos. The road to victory looked in question during the ½ half of the matchup with Evangelismos, the boys from Bustleton Avenue in Philadelphia.

The first period saw Evangelismos putting up a great battle with St. George. At the end of the first period, just six points separated the two. St. George led 19-11. The hot shooting of St. George early on, then went cold in the second quarter. And the defensive pressure of Evangelismos’ forced several turnovers that they capitalized on, converting them to points. That was helped by their domination on the boards late in the second quarter as well. Evangelismos pulled within three points at half time 19-16. But that was all she wrote.

An exciting first half championship turned out to be the St. George exhibition on shooting during the second half. They let loose and explosive performance and taking a commanding lead by more than 15 points in the third quarter. They were just unstoppable, drilling shots from around the perimeter and owning the baseline. Evangelismos’ boys fought a hard match through much of the third quarter, but the stars were aligned for St. George. Their 35 point route ended the drought with an exclamation point.

Final score: St. George 78, Evangelismos 41