Game of Week: Christmas leads team to road victory (Videos)

Dionte Christmas

This was just downright fun. Fourth quarter lead changes. Emphatic dunks. Clutch 3-pointers. Hostile crowd. In a possible playoff preview, Rethymno defeated Panionios 77-76 in Athens tonight.

Dionte Christmas paced the visitors from Crete with 19 points, including a steal and dunk (see video) that gave his team a 75-73 lead with 56 seconds remaining. Billy Keys (9 points) answered for Panionios before Rethymno’s Brent Petway was fouled and sank two clutch free throws with 17 seconds on the clock.

Up 77-75, Rethymno decided to foul Alex Stepheson — as they had done all night, with considerable vigor — and gambled that he’d miss a free throw. He was 8 of 14 from the line before he was fouled with 5.5 seconds left. The gamble paid off. The USC alum missed the first shot and hit the second. Panionios got the ball back with 3 seconds left but Marios Batis‘ half court shot missed.

Christmas, the league’s top scorer (19.5 ppg), also hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer (video below) going into halftime.

Jon Diebler led Panionios with 16 points and 6 rebounds. The league’s top 3-point shooter hit 3 of 6 from downtown, including two in the fourth quarter. His fast-break layup gave Panionios a 68-67 lead with just over 3 minutes to play.

Petway (8 points, 6 rebounds) saved his best for last. His putback two-handed dunk gave Rethymno a 56-49 lead to end the third quarter. He flirted with a technical, though, when he stared into the crowd after landing. He connected for two more hoops in the fourth quarter, followed by the two free throws. He played nearly the entire fourth quarter with 4 fouls.

Zack Wright also scored 19 points for Rethymno and pulled down 8 rebounds. He had four turnovers, one leading to the Diebler layup, but created many opportunities for his teammates. And he had a memorable steal. Laying belly up on the floor (after a missed shot and no call), he reached and poked the ball away from a Panionios player, directly to Christmas, who laid it in.

Wright’s penetration also freed up shooters including Damir Latovic, who sank some big outside shots (video below). Latovic finished with 18 points (three 3-pointers) and 6 rebounds.

Stepheson, who recently returned to the lineup after a knee injury, finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds.

Panionios (13-7) and Rethymno (12-7) are fourth and fifth, respectively, in the standings. Rethymno has won four in a row. Panionios has lost its last two games, and three of its last four.

DIONTE CHRISTMAS STEAL AND DUNK:

ZACK WRIGHT TO CHRISTMAS FOR HALFTIME BUZZER-BEATER:

WRIGHT TO DAMIR LATOVIC FOR 3-POINTER:

Wright, Christmas earn co-MVP weekly honor

Zack Wright looks over the Maroussi defense

Zack Wright and Dionte Christmas are this weekend’s co-MVPs after leading Rethymno to a 92-80 victory over Maroussi.

This is Wright’s sixth MVP award this season and it’s the third consecutive week he’s captured the honor — the Greek league’s version of player of the week. Christmas now has two MVP honors this season.

Temple alum Christmas recorded his first double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds against winless Maroussi. Wright also scored 21 points. He was 9 of 11 from the field, with four rebounds and three steals. Both players had performance ratings of 31.

The official announcement is expected later today or tomorrow. Last week, Wright shared the award with Jon Diebler of Panionios (which defeated Maroussi 97-57).

Sink threes, win prize … Diebler, Wright co-MVPs

Jon Diebler‘s barrage of 3-pointers against Maroussi has earned him co-MVP honors with Zack Wright of Rethymno. Yes, the same Zack Wright who was named MVP last weekend.

You’ll recall that Maroussi’s Nestoras Kommatos had a good case for the honor after scoring 40 points Saturday against PAOK. But the system rewards players on teams that “win.” The award is the Greek league’s version of player of the week.

Jon Diebler

Diebler hit six 3-pointers — including a buzzer-beater at the half — and finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead Panionios to a 97-57 victory over the Maroussi Six (as in, they only have six professionals on the roster, seriously).

Wright led Rethymno to a 81-71 win over PAOK on his home court in Crete. He scored 18 points, had 7 steals, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 4 turnovers. Rethymno was in control throughout. The 6-2 Wright’s dunk late in the third quarter gave his team a 15-point lead.

This is Wright’s fifth MVP award this season. His teammate Dionte Christmas had 19 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals in last night’s win.

Why is that important? Maroussi’s next opponent is Rethymno, at home on February 25. No game this Saturday.

Wright has shared the award twice before — with Georgios Printezis of Olympiakos, and with former Boston Celtics center Patrick O’Bryant of Kavala.

Maroussi loses ugly; Diebler hits six 3s

So many of Maroussi’s games — OK, losses, — have at least been fun to watch. Last-second shots that missed. Close games against powerhouses Olympiakos and Panathinaikos. The point guard getting ejected for arguing with the referees. I could go on.

Tonight, though, was a night to learn Greek. Panionios defeated Maroussi 97-57 in a game that was over shortly after the opening tip-off. So to stay entertained, the fans in the section I sat in during the second half collectively counted up Jon Diebler‘s 3-pointers. “Tessera” they said when he sank his fourth, “penta” for the next, and finally “exi” for his sixth and final long ball.

Maroussi, its losing streak at a season-long 17 games, has just six professionals on its roster because of serious financial problems. Two starters left the team recently but until now they’ve been able to get by on adrenaline, plus two teen-aged centers. Perimeter defense has not been their forte, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post. And actually, defense in general has suffered because they simply don’t have extra bodies if someone gets into foul trouble. Panionios shot 65 percent inside the 3-point line, 45 percent beyond it.

Diebler, the league’s best 3-point shooter, scored 22 points and added 11 rebounds — both season highs. He was 6 of 8 on 3-point attempts (six 3s ties his season high). His buzzer-beater before halftime gave Panionios a 46-24 lead. Not that it mattered much, but the score was 41-24 with Maroussi trying to set up the final shot of the half, when guard Yannis Gagaloudis lost the ball out of bounds, then kicked it in frustration. A technical foul was called. Ex-Maroussi star Billy Keys, to whom Maroussi still owes money, sank the two foul shots and Panionios retained possession, leading to the inbounds pass to Diebler with 2 seconds on the clock. He sank it from the corner.

Gagaloudis, the fiery, bearded and super-quick playmaker, led Maroussi with 16 points and 10 assists, along with 7 turnovers. His drives and shooting kept the game from turning uglier than it already was. Nestoras Kommatos, the league’s leading scorer (21 ppg) entering the game, finished with 14 points. He was 1 of 6 from 3-point range. Kommatos was coming off a 40-point performance Saturday but Panionios wisely doubled-teamed him and successfully harassed him all night, clearly borrowing on Bill Belichick‘s ‘Make ’em go to Manningham’ game plan.

Seven-footer Zisis Sarikopoulos scored 17 points and guard Marios Batis added 16 points for Panionios (13-5). Both are former Maroussi players. Alex Stepheson (knee) did not dress.

Panionios outrebounded Maroussi 44 to 21. The winners connected on 13 of 29 3-point attempts and held Maroussi to 2 of 13 from behind the arc.

Maroussi a long shot to stop Diebler, Panionios?

I bet Jon Diebler is excited about playing Maroussi tomorrow night. They called him “3bler” at Ohio State. He holds the Big 10 record for most 3s. Diebler now plays for Panionios and is the best 3-point shooter in the Greek league.

'We gotta stop all these 3s!'

You know who doesn’t defend 3-pointers very well? Yup, the black-and-yellow (you know what it is). Maroussi’s last six opponents, on average, have connected on 53 percent of their 3-point attempts, compared to just 34 percent in the first 10 games of the season. In any case, Maroussi lost all 16 games.

The Portland Trail Blazers selected Diebler, 23, in the second round (51st overall) of last year’s draft. During the NBA lockout, he signed a one-year contract with Panionios, which also brought in power forward Alex Stepheson (6-9, 250 lbs), who went undrafted out of USC.

Diebler is shooting 53 percent from 3-point range. Only Konstantinos Sloukas of Olympiakos has a higher success rate (53.6 percent) but on far fewer attempts. Diebler’s scoring average is 9.4 points for the season, but nearly 12 points in the past eight games, as he’s become a more regular starter.

Maroussi is coming off an emotional loss (I can’t find the F key for that phrase, but it would be useful), 86-82, at PAOK on Saturday. Nestoras Kommatos scored 40 points and played nearly the entire game. We’ll see how the 34-year-old responds with just a few days rest. Unlike the NBA, it’s usually just one game per week here.

Kommatos is the league’s leading scorer, at close to 21 points per game. But it hasn’t been enough to get Maroussi in the win column. The club is nearly bankrupt and recently told its players that it probably won’t be able to pay them for the rest of the season. Two reliable starters, Frank Elegar and Dimitris Haritopoulos, left the team.

With a full squad earlier this season, Maroussi played Panionios tough in a 69-67 loss. Yannis Gagaloudis, who is still with the team although looking for other offers, led Maroussi with 18 points.

Stepheson (11.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg) hasn’t played since January 28 because of a knee injury. He’s missed four of the last six games. He’s doubtful for tomorrow night. Panionios is 7-1 at home — the one loss coming against Olympiakos (15-1).