Upper Darby, PA – Scrappy play and defensive determination were the difference in the PGBL opener between PAS Giannina and the Wolfpack. Week two opened up with a big upset victory, that saw PAS Giannina pull off a one-point victory last night over the Pack. It gives credence to the old adage about the PGBL. On any given Thursday night, anyone can pull off an upset. On this night, the champions – Wolfpack fell to PAS Giannina.
PAS Giannina 58 vs. Wolfpack 56
Yep. You read that correctly. The boys in black earn their first win against the defending champs in a close game in which they outplayed and outhustled the Pack. PAS Giannina got contributions from every player in different ways, but the star of this game was a young new player named Evan Tsiklidis, who went scoreless in the 1st half but came out hungry in the 2nd. Evan scored from all over the floor, but it was his clutch jumpers in the last couple minutes that propelled Giannina to victory. Great job, Evan and way to introduce yourself to the league! PAS now sits at 1-1 with their next game against the Warriors next week. If they play like they did last night, they will be 2-1.
Injuries really hurt the Pack last night. Lou Sarris Grau, a force in the paint defensively, went down with a separated shoulder in the second half. Lou was rushed to the hospital but is ok now. Arts Haritonidis barely played because of an ankle injury, so it was up to George Vlahos and Lou Karapanagiotides to carry the load. The game was close from the start, even before the injuries, but it seemed like after their players went down the Wolfpack couldn’t get stops defensively. George Vlahos carried the team offensively, scoring 26 of the team’s 56 points but it would prove difficult for the Pack, without Aris as the second scoring option. Quick turnaround is needed as a confident Boardwalk Empire team awaits the Pack on Sunday at 7:00.
Mr. PGBL’s Game Ball – Evan Tsiklidas for his clutch performance