Ex-Maroussi stars enjoying life abroad

Update on ex-Maroussi players:

Let’s start in Turkey. Frank Elegar scored 18 points and had 12 rebounds in Antalya‘s 92-82 upset victory over league leader Galatasaray on Saturday. He also had three blocks and three steals. In five games since leaving Maroussi, Elegar is averaging 10.8 ppg and 7 rpg. The Drexel alum’s teammates include Scottie Reynolds (30 ppg) and Corey Fisher (25 ppg), both of Villanova. Elegar is connecting on 75 percent of his shots from the field.

Yannis Gagaloudis

Moving southward to Cyprus, Yannis Gagaloudis‘s new team, Apollon Limassol, faces a must-win game tonight. The team is in the Cypriot League playoffs and down 2 games to 1 against Etha. Gagaloudis is averaging 20.5 points in the four games with available box scores (he also played in two other games). The veteran point guard scored 30 points in his debut on the island. Apollon won its first-round playoff series 2-0 over ENAD. Hmm, I wonder if his team gets bounced from the playoffs if he would be eligible to return to Maroussi (no idea what the contract issues/rules are). My guess is neither side would be interested because there are only two games left in Maroussi’s season.

In Italy, Nestoras Kommatos hasn’t had to worry about being his team’s top scorer. That’s Troy Bell‘s job. The Boston College alum is averaging 23 points per game. In three games for second-division Sant’Antimo, Kommatos is scoring 11 ppg and pulling down 7.7 rebounds per game. The 34-year-old was the Greek league’s top scorer (20 ppg). The Italian club recruited Kommatos to add some front court scoring in a bid to avoid relegation. He experienced his first victory Sunday (he left Maroussi when the team was still winless) against Biancoblu, 87-76.

Finally to France, where Dimitris Haritopoulos plays for ASVEL, the club that is partly owned by NBA star Tony Parker. The San Antonio Spurs guard played for ASVEL during the NBA lockout last autumn. In six games, Haritopoulos is averaging 7.5 points and 3 rebounds per game.

Elegar wins in Turkey; Kommatos loses in Italy

Nestoras Kommatos

After suffering through a season-long losing streak in Maroussi, Nestoras Kommatos and Frank Elegar saw their first action with their new clubs this weekend. Elegar tasted victory in Turkey, while Kommatos’ squad lost in Italy.

Elegar, 25, had a strong game Saturday, helping Antalya to an 88-83 road upset over Erdemir. The Drexel alum started alongside Philadelphia pals Corey Fisher and Scottie Reynolds. Fisher and Reynolds were teammates at Villanova. Elegar and Fisher are old friends from the same neighborhood in the Bronx.

Elegar was in the starting lineup and finished with 11 points and a team-high 9 rebounds. Fisher scored 24 points; Reynolds 19.

There’s another Philly connection: Erdemir’s leading scorer was La Salle alum K’Zell Wesson, 34. He scored 21 points and had 9 rebounds.

Kommatos, who led the Greek league in scoring (20.4 ppg) when he skipped town last week, started for second-division Sant’Antimo yesterday. They lost 77-67 to Enel Brindisi. The 34-year-old scored just 4 points. He shot 1 of 6 from 3-point range. He had 10 rebounds and played 32 minutes.

Arrivederci: Kommatos to Italy

Nestoras Kommatos is taking his talents to Naples. The 34-year-old has signed a contract through the end of the season with second-division Sant’Antimo, the Italian team announced today.

It was just a matter of time, of course, because three Maroussi teammates, all of whom were starters, had left before him. Maroussi (0-17) is nearly broke and can barely pay its players. Sant’Antimo (6-13) is in last place and wants to avoid relegation next season.

Nestoras Kommatos

The Italians know Kommatos, who led the Greek league in scoring (20.4 ppg), will bring scoring punch to its frontcourt. The Greek forward shot 56 percent inside the 3-point line and 34.5 percent beyond it. Kommatos averaged 6.6 rebounds per game, good for seventh-best in Greece.

Kommatos is a two-time All Star in Greece and was having something of a resurgent season. He and point guard Yannis Gagaloudis helped make Maroussi a fun team to watch, even as they lost, sometimes in heartbreaking fashion. Gagaloudis, now in Cyprus, was the quick playmaker with a quick temper, while Kommatos was the quiet one, piling up points. Frank Elegar (see ‘Elegar signs with Turkish team’) dunked and blocked shots while Dimitris Haritopoulos (now in France) was the blue-collar power forward.

Two memories of Kommatos jump out to me. First was his 40-point night in Thessaloniki recently, when Gagaloudis was absent. He basically was the team’s only scoring threat but still found ways to get open and sink shots (including seven 3-pointers). Maroussi lost 86-82.

A heartbreaker for Maroussi fans was Jan. 7 at home to Drama. At that point, Maroussi was 0-10 and still had hopes of turning its season around, if only it could break into the win column.

Maroussi led by 12 points but Drama chipped away in the second half — that Jeremy Hunt can shoot; I see why Coach Cal reinstated him at Memphis in 2006. Down 75-74, Gagaloudis drove into the lane and missed. Might have been fouled. A scramble for the rebound sent the ball out of bounds under the basket. Maroussi retained possession with just over 1 second remaining.

Kommatos came around a screen, took the pass and went up to shoot from about 18 feet, near the baseline. His defender even slipped a bit, giving him a nice look at the basket. The ball skimmed over the rim, hit the far side of the rim, and bounced straight out. Buzzer. Game over. Kommatos fell backward and laid on the court in disbelief.

In Italy, Kommatos will work with another successful point guard, Troy Bell, 31. He’s averaging 23 ppg in five games for Sant’Antimo. Bell played at Boston College and was the 16th pick in the 2003 draft, taken by the Boston Celtics, who traded his rights to the Memphis Grizzlies in a deal that brought Kendrick Perkins to Boston.

Kommatos played briefly for Bologna in 2006. He’s also played in Turkey, Israel, Russia and Spain.

Elegar signs with Turkish team

Frank Elegar has signed with Antalya in Turkey’s top division, and it looks like an unofficial Bronx-and-Philly reunion.

Elegar, 25, was the lone import for financially troubled Maroussi. He averaged 9 points (59 percent from the field) and 5 rebounds per game from the center position but left about two weeks ago when the winless team told players that it ran out of money to pay salaries.

At Antalya, Elegar’s new teammates include fellow Bronx native Corey Fisher, 23. Both played their college ball in Philadelphia; Fisher for Villanova and Elegar for Drexel. Also on the roster is Scottie Reynolds, who was Fisher’s teammate at Villanova. Reynolds was cut by the Utah Jazz this pre-season.

Former Boston Celtics first round draft pick (11th overall in 2001) Kedrick Brown, 30, plays for Antalya (4-14), as well. Brown was traded to Cleveland in December 2003. He also played for the 76ers. He averaged 3.6 ppg in 143 NBA games spanning four seasons.

The Celtics also drafted Joseph Forte with the 21st pick in 2001. Among the players they passed on? Tony Parker, taken with the last pick of the first round by the San Antonio Spurs. Just sayin.

Elegar and Brown were teammates two years ago in Turkey when they played for Bornova Belediye.

Maroussi falls short again

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.

Elegar leaves team, has offer in Turkey

Frank Elegar has become the latest Maroussi player to leave the team. The American, who was Maroussi’s starting center and an excellent defender, told me he has an offer from a club in Turkey, and likely will go there early this week. Like his teammates, he’s been underpaid for most of the season. Maroussi’s president informed the players Friday that they may not get paid again until the end of the season, and that they’re free to sign elsewhere. Dimitris Haritopoulos, a power forward, left earlier this week and signed a contract with a French club.

Elegar, a 25-year-old Drexel grad, attended Saturday’s game against Ilysiakos, and sat in the stands behind the Maroussi bench. He was greeted warmly by several passersby. He told me it was hard to watch his (former) team play but that he couldn’t risk an injury on the verge of a new contract. Elegar averaged 9 points and 5 rebounds per game, and his 1.1 blocks per game was among the best in the league.

Who are these guys?

Guard Yannis Gagaloudis, 33, and forward Nestoras Kommatos, 34, comprise the core and heart of the team. Gagaloudis leads the league in assists (6 per game) and scores 15 points per game. Kommatos scores 19 points per game. That’s second best in the league. Both are Greek and have played internationally. Kommatos played on the Tel Aviv Maccabi team that won the 2005 Euroleague championship.

Gagaloudis (6-3, 180) is skinny, quick — he also smokes; very Greek — sometimes uses soccer-style theatrics to get a call from the refs and can get under the skin of opponents. Just ask new Olympiakos guard Acie Law, who got so frustrated with Gagaloudis that he threw the ball at his legs after a foul. Kommatos (6-8) is always around the ball — the offense runs through him — and shoots 57 percent from the field.

Gagaloudis recently told me that earning a victory is “the most important thing” right now. “For everybody else, it means nothing. We’ll be 1-15. For us, it would be like taking the championship. You remember, in Greek mythology, Hercules? He fights everybody. It would be like this.”

Frank Elegar, 25, is the lone international import. Most teams have three or four imports (see ‘Why Maroussi?’ post for explanation). A center, Elegar is lanky (6-9, 225), plays solid defense, usually against bigger opponents, and scores when called upon (9 points per game). He’s a Drexel alum. Dimitris Haritopoulos, a 28-year-old power forward, left for France. (see Tony Parker post).

Maroussi has lost four games by 2-point margins. They lost 89-84 to Olympiakos (14-1) on Jan. 21, and gave Panathinaikos (14-1) a scare, 93-84, earlier in the season.