Dino Thomazos had a heck of a game with 25 points to lead the Mavs to their first victory of the season. Not sure how old Dino is but I believe he is in his late 30’s. 25 points at that age are impressive. Also for the Mavs, Dimitri Poulimenos has another good game. With 20 in the last game, and 19 tonight, Poulimenos is looking very productive on offense of late. Zois Gassis, still looking for his breakout game, scores a solid 12 points. Mavs get a win, can it lead to two?
After a big win against the Sixers, the Spurs looked to keep that momentum going against the Mavs tonight but without their big man Niko Papas, the Spurs would face some obstacles. Kosta Nikolos scored a season-high 25 points with very good outside shooting. Nikolos made five three-pointers and also had some nice post moves. Vas Rousseas made three three-pointers for 10 points, but the whole Spurs team were just not aggressive enough in the second half. The lack of size missing Papas and Koliatsis hurt them.
Game ball – Dino Thomazos
Kings 56 vs. Terps 37
After a deflating loss in the final seconds against the Sixers, the Kings looked to re-inflate their hopes to be an elite team. This was an impressive win, especially because of the strong defense. Foti Giannopoulos led his team in scoring once again with 18 points and a handful of rebounds. Bill Zonios, who has been rather quiet offensively this season, scored a modest 9 points but the star of the game was Kings guard Chris Kourelias. With 14 points, some big rebounds and very nice late game assists, Kourelias led the team to victory. Very good play by the Kings bench as well. The team looked very positive, and with so many different weapons, they could be dangerous come playoffs.
Rough game for the Terps, especially the 2nd half. The Terps kept it close for the first 20 minutes, but offensive struggles struck later in the game. Niko Balis led the Terps with 20 points but shot a low percentage. Balis, along with the rest of the team, didn’t play as a unit as they have in the previous weeks. If they want to stay above .500, I believe the scoring has to be more balanced, and every player on the team needs to feel important. Nobody else with more than 6 points in this one. The Terps are a good team though and will be in the playoffs, I think.
Game ball – Chris Kourelias
Arseniko 66 vs. Grizzlies 34
If this is the Arseniko team we’ll see in the playoffs, I wouldn’t want to face them in the 1st round. Lou Karapanagiotides led the team in scoring with 18 points from the point guard spot. Lou was very good from midrange and even hit a couple 3’s. Alexi Topalidis (14pts) always seems to have a better game when Lou is there to take pressure off him. Chris Voutsakis scored 12 points, all in the 1st half. Also for Arseniko Nick Paparoidamos got out into the open court and scored some buckets, as did Evan Karapanagiotides, who by the way will be leaving the city and the PGBL for a new job. Mr. PGBL wishes him the best of luck and thank you for the work you have done with Cosmos Philly to help the PGBL grow. Hope to see you back soon.
When the Grizz were feeling good about themselves and optimistic about getting a win, they ran into Arseniko. The Grizz were led in scoring by Nick Kafkalas who is one of their best players. Kafkalas scored 13 points tonight and was the only player in double figures. The Grizzlies got off to a very slow start which I think is the main reason they fell so far behind. With under 8 minutes left in the first half, they had only 2 points on the scoreboard. Scoring picked up for them, but the Grizzlies need to start well, stay strong, and finish even better if they are going to get that first W.
Game ball – Evan Karapanagiotides