Panionios-Doxa Lefkada: Battle for the second ticket to the Final 4 of the UNICEF Trophy.

THE Panionios and the Glory of Lefkada will claim on Friday (20:00) at the Ano Liosion Olympic Center the second ticket for the final of Final 4 of the UNICEF Trophy. The winner will meet on Saturday at 18:00 the one who will have prevailed earlier in the first semi-final between Neaniki Estias Megaridos and Milos (17:00), with a prize beyond the trophy and a place in the Final 8 of the Cup.

Lykogiannis: “We all want the trophy, let’s show up ready”

Panionios returns to the Final 4 of the UNICEF Trophy with the aim of defending the title he won last year, when competing in the Second National Team he reached the trophy and participated in the Final 8 of the Cup.

The Nea Smyrna team qualified for the Final 4 by knocking out Panerythraikos (86-63), Ermis Schimatariou (80-90) and Papagou (88-83). The “blue and red” finished the first round of the Elite League Henry Dunant in first place with 12-3 having won eight consecutive championships.

“The UNICEF Trophy Final 4 is a very strong event that elevates the institution of the Cup. All four teams that are here, we have the goal of winning the trophy and everyone can understand that. That we expect very strong matches is a matter of course from the moment when the exciting Elite League Henry Dunan predates it. I hope the world will enjoy a beautiful spectacle“, emphasized the coach of the team, Aris Lykogiannis, who is undefeated since taking over the technical leadership of the team.

“As far as Panionios is concerned, we know that we have a difficult semi-final ahead of us. Doxa Lefkada is a very good and quality team and it is something we know well after they beat us by twenty points at home in the league. We want to show up ready for this match, be focused and highly motivated to get the result we want“, he added.

Kalambakos: “Great challenge for Doxa Lefkada”

Doxa Lefkada, having already made its presence felt in the Elite League, Errikos Dunan aspires to stir up the waters in the Final 4 of the UNICEF Trophy, where he arrived by successively overcoming the obstacles of Iraklis (without a match), Trikala (63-67) and Amyntas (76-84). It closed the first round of the championship with a record of 7-8 counting five consecutive losses, however it was imposed 90-70 of Panioni for the fifth game.

“First of all, I wish everyone a happy new year with good health“, said the coach of Doxa Lefkada, Dinos Kalambakos and added: “The big challenge for my team is approaching. Despite the festive atmosphere, we worked as best as we could and will present ourselves as ready as possible for the semi-final of the Final 4. My team is especially happy for its presence in the UNICEF Trophy as it also broke the bad tradition it had in the institution of the Cup. Panionios now sees the division with a different eye, but my team is also determined to fight for the best. It’s a prime opportunity to look at things we worked on during the league break and draw conclusions. The semi-final will be completely different from the championship game between us. I hope it will be a good game and we will all be healthy».