As a fan of the Boston Red Sox, I know a crushing defeat when I see one. If Maroussi’s 89-81 loss tonight against Ilysiakos doesn’t shred the team’s soul, I don’t know what would. Maroussi is now 0-15.
Maroussi, forced to insert a 17-year-old into the starting five, found itself leading 81-76 with just over 2 minutes to play. Then it got ugly. Ilysiakos pulled even with a 3-pointer, followed by two free throws by Nana Harding (24 points, 14 rebounds) with 1:18 to play.
Tied at 81-81, a loose ball headed out of bounds — for a Maroussi possession — but Maroussi coach Nikos Linardos touched the ball at the sideline before it was declared out. That’s a technical foul. Nikos Chatzis sank both free throws, giving Ilysiakos an 83-81 lead with 47 seconds remaining.
Ilysiakos gained possession after a Maroussi miss, but point guard Yannis Gagaloudis (16 points) stole a pass and was fouled. He took the inbounds pass and drove toward the basket. Defender Darryl Thompson (12 points; all on 3-pointers) fell backward and Gagaloudis lost the ball, expecting a foul. No call. Chatzis stole the ball, was fouled, sank two more free throws, making it 85-81 with 18 seconds left.
Incensed, Gagaloudis badgered the referees at midcourt during a timeout that lasted a good 10 minutes as an assistant coach tried to steer him toward the bench. He received a double-technical and was ejected before removing his yellow jersey and walking toward the locker room.
Chatzis hit four more free throws — for the technical fouls — to make it 89-81.
Wait, there’s more. The three refs, one of whom was taking abuse from a fan, then walked off the court with 14 seconds remaining. Players and coaches on both sides weren’t sure what to do. They lingered on the court for about 15 minutes. Then, the refs reappeared and the final seconds were ticked off the clock.
Maroussi led by as many as 14 points (37-23) in the second quarter.
The end-game mess overshadowed a superb effort by Maroussi, which played without center Frank Elegar (see previous post), who is leaving to likely join a club in Turkey, and minus starting power forward Dimitris Haritopoulos, who signed with a French club. Overall, Maroussi played smaller and faster. They rotated two teenagers in the center spot. Ilysiakos finished with 37 rebounds to Maroussi’s 28.
Nestoras Kommatos led Maroussi with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. Lefteris Akepsemaidis contributed 12 points and 6 assists.
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