With the… right h AEK Betsson BC at the time, Ilias Zouros!
Making a quite good show for the longest period of the match, “Union” took out reaction and… pulse after a while, prevailing more easily than the final shows 95-86 of Karditsa at “Yiannis Bourousis” for the 16th matchday of the Stoiximan Basket League.
The “yellow and black” had the upper hand in the score from the very first minute of the match, even reaching +17 in the middle of the second period. With this victory, AEK rose – albeit temporarily – to 6th place in the standings with 7-9 recordwhile ending a streak of three consecutive defeats.
The first scorers for the winners were Justin Tillman and Yannis Kouseloglou with 20 points each, while valuable help was also provided by McRae (13p., 6r.) and Yes T (14p., 5r., 3as.).
On the other hand, the team of Nikos Papanikolopoulos, which saw its streak of four consecutive victories interrupted, fell to 5-11, with Bilateral (15p.) and White (14p.) to stand out in performance.
The match:
THE AEK entered the match very dynamically, emitting energy and finding solutions at both ends of the floor. With Justin Tillman dominating under the two baskets and scoring six points, the Union led by 9-4 at 4′, while, a minute later, Brandon Knight’s three-pointer made the score 12-4. After its sluggish start, Karditsa slowly began to find a rhythm in the attack and with eight points by Avdala and Mack it was reduced to 18-14 at 7′. Through their good defense and quick transition, however, AEK managed to increase the difference again, closing the first period at +11 for 26-15.
In the second quarter, the “yellow and black” continued their high flights, pushing the difference close to 20 points. With two consecutive three-pointers by Netzipoglou and Hollins, the “Union” went at +17 (19-36) at 13′, maintaining the difference at these levels until 18′, thanks to the excellent performance of Tillman (14 points in the half), but also the important assists of McRae.
And while everything seemed to be his team Ilias Zouro would go into the break with a significant lead, Karditsa with an impressive counter attack in the last part of the period, managed through its defense to run a quick 11-0 run, closing the halftime trailing 47-52.
Yes, in the beginning third period, the Carditsa even reduced the difference to 3 (51-54), before McRae and Kouseloglou found scores and sent the AEK at +9 (51-60) in the 23rd minute. Afterwards, however, the team of Nikos Papanikolopoulos reacted once again and with the protagonist McCallum who scored 7 points in a row, reduced it again to 4 (60-64) at 26′. The Brandon Knight and Kouseloglou but he had the answers for “Union” and with 5 points each, AEK went on an 11-2 run in the last three minutes, thus closing the quarter ahead with 75-62.
At its beginnings fourth and last period, Karditsa tried to “nibble” the difference, taking advantage of the fact that it went to the shooting line several times in the first minutes of the quarter, as a result of which it reduced to 8 for 77-69 at 32′. A little later, AEK also entered the shot bonus, increasing the difference again to +12 (84-72). THE Bilateral but he didn’t let the visitors get away with the score and with a goal-foul, but also a three-pointer, he reduced the difference to 87-80 at 35′.
However, this was also the last “counter-attack” of the hosts, after AEK tightened its defense in the last five minutes and with many protagonists in the attack, it reached the pink match sheet more comfortably than it shows the final 95-86.
The quarters: 15-26, 47-52, 62-75, 86-95
See here the statistics of the match.
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
