Upper Darby, PA – The Warriors redeemed themselves last night at St. Demetrios with a tough victory over the scrappy Warriors, and now share the top spot of 1st place. In game two, the Kings also managed to keep atop the rankings, with a solid victory over the Sixers, who fell into 5th place. And in game three, Danny’s Boys stomped out Pas Giannina with a series of three pointers in the second half and a lot of penetration throughout the night.
Wolfpack 55 vs. Warriors 46
The Wolfpack improve to 5-1 after a hard fought victory against a Warriors team that’s relentlessly physical. Lou Sarris Grau proved to be the difference maker with his size in the paint, scoring a game high 15 points and making the Warriors’ forwards work overtime. George Vlahos and Aris Haritonidis both scored 13 points. One thing I believe the Wolfpack need to improve on is ball movement, but then again who needs ball movement when you have one of the league’s best at the point, Lou Karapanagiotides.
The effort and physicality was there but offensively the Warriors couldn’t get as hot as they would have liked. Will Galiatsatos was the only player to score in double digits with 10 points but in order to beat one of the league’s best teams that number needs to be higher. As a team the Warriors will be a difficult out come playoff time. They pose a threat to any of the top teams, and we’ll see how they fare against Danny’s Boys next week. Mr. PGBL’s Game Ball: Lou Sarris Grau.
Kings 70 vs. Sixers 59
The Kings really turned up the offense in the second half of this game with great ball movement and that was led by Alex Veronis (25pts) and Bill Zonios (21pts). Veronis was able to read the defense and score on easy layups as the Kings broke down the Sixers’ defense. Bill Zonios got hot from outside and hit some crucial 3’s to extend the lead. The Kings were short handed once again playing without guards Nicko Balis and Niki Veronis but this team is deep enough to compete, even with a depleted bench.
An excellent first half for the Sixers as they carried a 30-27 lead into halftime but having only 5 players is recipe for fatigue! The best big man in PGBL History, Jim Armenakis was doing his thing tonight, taking advantage of the size mismatch. Armenakis scored 28 points and posed a big problem for the Kings’ defense. Chris Vasiliou scored 15 points but had trouble getting the 3 ball going. As a team, the Sixers only made 3 three pointers tonight. Mr. PGBL’s Game Ball: Alex Veronis.
Danny’s Boys 76 vs. PAS Giannina 68
With a combination of speed and deadly shooting Pete Kathopoulis is leading the league in scoring once again, scoring 25 tonight to lead DB to their 4th win. Danny’s Boys’ Matt Zachariades (13pts) had a solid game down low and seems to be fitting in great with his new team, especially in the absence of Zeke Economides. Kosta Nikolos (11pts) got hot from outside late in the game and helped DB foil any comeback attempts by Giannina. Danny’s Boys is in good shape early on and I only expect them to improve. Next Thursday should be a fun game to watch against the Warriors, who gave the Wolfpack all they could handle tonight.
PAS Giannina played a heck of a game and they’ve been holding it together in the absence of Kosta Pavlidis. Still looking for their first win, but playing solid basketball none the less. Tonight the team was led by Dimitri Evangelopoulos who scored 23 points, 18 of those in the second half. Some impressive hop step baby hooks from inside the paint along with a couple long 3 pointers helped Dimitri earn his season high in points. Mr. PGBL Game Ball: Pete Kathopoulis.