The spirited Peristeri came back from -14 and threw AEK on the canvas!

He took the matzara on her AEK Betsson BC the Dove!

Thanks to their spirited performance in the second half and especially in the last period, Giorgos Limniatis’ team defeated “Union” with score 89-82 at “Andreas Papandreou”, celebrating a very big victory for the 9th round of the Stoiximan GBL!

The guests were the ones who entered the match better and led until with +14 (18-32) at the beginning of the second period, however, the “Princes of the West Bank” managed in the last 20 minutes to “lock” the attacking assets of the guests and thanks to their pressing defense, get the 4th pink card of the season and catch AEK in the 4-5!

Of course, this great victory for Peristeri is mitigated, as there is a great deal in the people of the team concern for Neocles Avdala’s conditionwho shortly before the end of the match left the field on support with a leg problem.

Leading for the winners was CJ Harris with 25 points, with Carberry to follow with 13 points and very important baskets in the finale. For the “yellow and black”, who had four players with double-digit points, o Hunter Hale with 20 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

The match:

The beginning of the match was quite balanced, with the two teams going hand in hand in the score in the first minutes of the period, while it was remarkable that both were constantly marking the opponent’s racket. With him Grace to score his first 6 points Peristeriou and her AEK on her part finding scores from different players, the score was 8-8 in the first quarter.

Somewhere there, “Union” stepped on the gas and got away with the score, thanks to his two back-to-back three-pointers Hump and one of his Haleled 17-10 at 6′. With versatility in the attack and nice actions near the basket, the visitors kept the lead with typical comfort and thanks to an unanswered 7-0 run in the last minute, closed the quarter at +10 and 26-16.

The accuracy of his team Dragan Sakota behind 6.75 m. continued in second periodwhere with the successive three-pointers of Hamp and Kouseloglou, he shot the difference at +14 and 32-18 at 12′. Despite the shock, the hosts fought back and got back into the match through their good defence. Keeping the visitors to just two points for almost 4 minutes and with their baskets Pope, Eddie and Harristhe team of Giorgos Limniatis was reduced at 30-37 at 16′. Bryce and Kouzeloglou with a quick 5-0 run made it 30-42, with Xanthopoulos and Poulianitis answering for 35-42 at 18′. In fact, Peristeri with two points from Kofi and three points at the end of the excellent in the first half, Harris, gnawed the difference and sent the two teams to the locker room with the score at 41-44.

With successive baskets, the third periodwhere Eddy and Harris on the one hand and Golden and Hamp on the other, made it 46-49 at 22′. With boyish baskets by Zougris and Kofi, Peristeri overtook for 51-49 two minutes later, taking the lead for the first time since the initial 4-2! Somewhere there, an incredible “bra de fer” began between the two teams, who constantly exchanged successive “blows”! It was characteristic that until the end of the period the lead changed hands four times, while there were a total of five draws. Big stars for the hosts were Xanthopoulos and Avdalas who with five points each they wrote 65-61 at 38′. Shortly after, AEK tied the game thanks to his 10 points Bryce in the second half of the period (65-65), when Harris with three shots in the final wrote 68-65 of the quarter.

And while everything showed that the fourth and final period will develop into a thriller, the Pigeon with tremendous energy and intensity in attack and defense, tipped the scales in his favor! The “West Bank Princes” came in strong and with a nail by Zougris and a three-pointer by Harris, they went for the first time tonight at +7 (73-65) at 31′. In fact, thanks to their suffocating defense, they held on AEK without a point for the first 4.5 minutes of the quarter(!), at the same time raising the difference to +11 (76-65) and a little later at +13 and 80-67 at 35′!

Nevertheless, although she found herself with her back to the… wall with the Pigeon having psychology on her side, the AEK managed to “clear” her mind and get back into the match, going on a 10-1 run over the next three minutes with Bryce and Hale as the protagonists, cutting it to 81-78 at 38′! Two long and very difficult mid-range shots by Carberry and Harris, however, brought the home team to +5 (85-80) in the last minute, thus reaching the victory with the final 89-82.

The quarters: 16-26, 41-44, 68-65, 89-82.

See here the statistics of the match.