Aris 90, Maroussi 69

Hmm. Looking for interesting things to write about this one. Aris defeated Maroussi 90-69. It was close in the first half, then Aris pulled away. Eh. Six Aris players scored in double figures. OK. And four in double figures for Maroussi (1-21). Blah.

Well, I did notice that Aris coach Vangelis Alexandris went ballistic several times. That’s kind of a trend here, where many coaches receive Messiah-like respect from fan bases and media. Alexandris coached Maroussi to its Saporta Cup (now called Eurocup) victory in 2001.

But still, it’s frustrating to see coaches lose their cool and yank a player off the court for daring to be just a little bit creative. Be a robot or you sit. For example, Sergio Kerusch had the ball and backed his defender toward the basket. He made a nice turn into the lane, went up and missed the shot. Ok, he should have sank it. But it was a good move. And apparently it wasn’t in the script. Alexandris immediately yanked him.

Discipline and team play are important. But when players are literally looking over their shoulders after every play to see if they’ll be benched or yelled at, it stifles the creativity coaches pray for when their teams are losing by 12 points in the fourth quarter to Panathinaikos or Olympiakos. Just sayin’.

Ok, so back to the game. Aris led 44-39 at the half. Prodromos Nikolaidis scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the first half for Maroussi. But the Thessaloniki crew clamped down defensively in the third quarter, and Dan Mavraides hit a couple of 3-pointers to give Aris some space. Princeton alum Mavraides had all 10 of his points in the second half.

Christos Tapoutos led Aris with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Ronald Davis chipped in with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Aris connected on 10 of 20 3-point attempts. Sam Muldrow (South Carolina) had 7 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.

For Maroussi, Giannis Demertzis recorded 11 points, 6 assists and 4 steals. Seventeen-year-old center Lampros Tsontzos scored 10 points on 5 of 8 shooting. Andreas Kanonidis contributed 11 points off the bench, including two 3-pointers that kept Maroussi fairly close in the second half.

Aris (10-12) has won four consecutive games.

Preview: Maroussi goes island hopping

Marcus Hatten (www.esake.gr photo)

Maroussi plays Colossus tomorrow on the island of Rhodes. Strictly business. Coach Nikos Linardos ignored my team-bonding idea of shell collecting at the beach. There’s “no time” for that, apparently. The team is scheduled to board a morning flight tomorrow, play at 4 p.m. local time, then return to Athens later in the evening. Normally, a team would arrive the night before and sleep at a hotel. But cash-strapped Maroussi can’t afford it.

Awaiting young Maroussi (1-19) is Colossus (14-6), which has lost three of its last four games but wants to maintain its third-place spot going into the playoffs. With four games remaining, it’s not going catch Olympiakos (20-1) or Panathinaikos (18-2) but Rethymno and Panionios, both 13-7, are close behind. If the season ended now, Colossus would open the playoffs against Kavala (11-10).

The top four finishers in the playoffs qualify for European championships; the top two teams play in the elite Euroleague while the other two go to the qualifying round of the next-best tournament, the Eurocup.

Marcus “Mo” Hatten and fellow guard Angelos Tsamis are the top scorers, averaging 12.4 ppg. Hatten played briefly with the Denver Nuggets in the 2004-05 season. The Baltimore native was undrafted in 2003 out of St. John’s, where he was coached by Mike Jarvis (of the great city of Cambridge, Massachusetts).

Scotty Hopson averages 9 points and 3 rebounds per game. The 22-year-old left Tennessee one year ago, after his junior year. Hopson, a gifted shooting guard with highlight-reel finishing ability, was not drafted. This is his first stint overseas. Another USA American, Ruben Boykin, is averaging 11 points and 6 rebounds.

Last week, Maroussi took a beating, as expected, from Panathinaikos. But the takeaway? Backup center Dimitrios Agravanis finished with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Agravanis and fellow 17-year-old center Lampros Tsontzos have been gaining valuable experience since four of five Maroussi starters left the financially troubled team earlier this year.

To stay competitive, however, Maroussi’s shooting needs to improve. It’s been deplorable recently. They hit 5 of 25 three-point attempts last week, and went 11 of 39 inside the arc.

Panathinaikos wins; Maroussi teen scores 15 points (Videos)

Dimitrios Agravanis

This was a slightly more interesting game than I expected. For the record, Panathinaikos easily defeated Maroussi, 96-56, in a game that was pretty much over in the first quarter.

But no one was playing for today. Panathinaikos (18-2) was tuning up for Saturday’s Greek Cup final against bitter rival Olympiakos — think Celtics and Lakers, but add hooligans. Maroussi (1-19) was gaining experience in hopes of pulling off another victory this season.

For Maroussi, backup center Dimitrios Agravanis had a breakout game. He came off the bench and led Maroussi with 15 points and 7 rebounds. He was 3 of 11 from the field but sank 9 of 11 free throws. Not bad for a kid who turned 17 years old in December.

Fellow 17-year-old Lampros Tsontzos picked up his third foul just seven minutes into the first quarter, forcing Agravanis to eat up more minutes. He was aggressive on the offensive end (see video), which helped him get to the foul line.

Panathinaikos, the defending Euroleague champion, wasn’t going easy on Maroussi, pressing guards Lefteris Akepsimaidis and Giannis Demertzis the whole game.

In case anyone thought Panathinaikos wasn’t taking the game seriously, coach Zeljko Obradovic cleared things up just 39 seconds into the first quarter when he benched guard Nick Calathes. The 23-year-old had decided to ad-lib for a split second instead of methodically running the offense. Tsontzos stole the ball from Calathes at the foul line as he tried to drive.

Obradovic gave Calathes a talking to before the Florida alum sat on the bench. He returned after the first quarter, and led the team with 13 points. He also recorded 4 assists and 4 steals.

Obradovic, a Serb who is considered one of the greatest European coaches ever, also gave the business to Alexis Kiritsis after a turnover. He wasn’t pleased by much of anything (see video), even as the Greens shot 60 percent from the field and out-rebounded Maroussi 55 to 23.

Aleks Maric, 6-foot-11 and 275 pounds, had 9 points and 11 rebounds for Panathinaikos. Kostas Kaimakoglou, who played for Maroussi from 2004 to 2010, scored 8 points and added 5 rebounds. Sarunas Jasikevicius chipped in with 12 points.

Maroussi connected on just 5 of 25 3-point attempts and shot 28 percent inside the arc. Three-point specialist Prodromos Nikolaidis was 2 of 10 from downtown.

DIMITRIOS AGRAVANIS FINISHES:

 

COACH ZELJKO OBRADOVIC:

Preview: Panathinaikos pays a visit

Vagel Sakellariou

Maroussi didn’t have much time to celebrate its first victory of the season. It hosts Panathinaikos (17-2) tomorrow evening. Normally, it’s an NFL-style schedule, one game each week. But there are no league games this Saturday because of the Greek Cup final — between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos.

Panathinaikos is one of the best teams in Europe, not just Greece. It is the defending Euroleague champion. Basically, tomorrow’s game is a more or less a practice session for the big game Saturday.

So, what does that mean for Maroussi? If they can hang with Panathinaikos for a half, maybe even three quarters, that would be a huge accomplishment. Maroussi, of course, has a depleted roster, which includes several teenagers. Starting center Lampros Tsontzos is 17 years old.

Panathinaikos, historically one of the wealthiest clubs in Europe, has a ridiculously deep bench. Mike Batiste, Ian Vougioukas, and Stratos Perperoglou are unlikely to play because of injuries.

But it’s hardly a break for Maroussi. That means Aleks Maric will get more time in the middle. He’s 6-foot-11 and 275 pounds, and Maroussi doesn’t have the size nor experience to handle big men. Maric is an Australian-Serb and alum of the University of Nebraska.

It will be a homecoming for Kostas Kaimakoglou, who played for Maroussi during the good old days (2004-10). He scored 18 points Saturday in a 85-65 victory over PAOK.

We’ll see how much time the Panathinaikos regulars get, considering the Greek Cup final on Saturday.

Their roster is sprinkled with former NBA draft picks, some of whom have played in the NBA. Sarunas Jasikevicius, 36, played for the Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors. Steven Smith of La Salle played briefly for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Nick Calathes, 23, left the University of Florida after the 2008-09 season and signed a three-year deal with Panathinaikos. The Minnesota Timberwolves selected him in the second round of the 2009 NBA draft. Romain Sato was taken in the second round of the 2004 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs, who released the Xavier alum in 2005.

Preview: This one ‘winnable’ (sort of)

Maroussi players celebrating in 2001

In 2007, when the Boston Celtics lost 18 consecutive games, they saw Milwaukee on the schedule, followed by a tough road trip. The Celtics beat the Bucks 117-97 and Paul Pierce said: “We definitely eyed this game.”

Peristeri is Maroussi’s Milwaukee. Peristeri is on a four-game losing streak and is 6-12 overall after starting the season 5-2. Like Maroussi, Peristeri is having financial problems. Three of its top players left the squad. Sound familiar?

Maroussi (0-18) visits its crosstown rival tomorrow night, hosts Panathinaikos (16-2) next week, followed by a trip to Rhodes to face Kolossus (13-5). Maroussi then finishes its season against three clubs in playoff contention.

Maroussi is winless but this is really only Game 2 for the reconfigured squad, playing without four veteran starters who left for greener pastures (i.e. steady paychecks). Their 17-year-old center, Lampros Tsontzos, played 32 minutes last week.

Meanwhile, the flu made its way through the lineup early this week, limiting coach Nikos Linardos‘ ability to prepare the black-and-yellow.

Still, this one is winnable. First, Peristeri doesn’t have a wide-body center the likes of Zisis Sarikopoulos, the muscular 7-footer for Panionios who scored 17 points (8 of 10) in 14 minutes against Maroussi two weeks ago. Peristeri’s Sotirios Manolopoulos, despite his size (6-foot-10), prefers launching 3-pointers (8 of 28 past four games) to grinding in the paint.

Peristeri has been out-rebounded in all four games of its current losing streak. Maroussi, despite losing last week, pulled down 30 rebounds to Rethymno’s 28.

Peristeri’s top scorer Charalampos Giannopoulos (12 ppg) can do a little of everything. The 22-year-old had a career game five weeks ago in an 81-69 victory. He scored 32 points (6 of 7 from 3-point range). He’s slowed down during the current skid. In the past two weeks, he’s 0 for 7 from downtown.

Connecticut alum Gavin Edwards (9.5 ppg, 5 rpg) is connecting on 64 percent of his shots. Giannopoulos and Edwards, 24, are capable of getting the the foul line if their jumpers aren’t falling.

Realistically, though, Maroussi will need continued stellar play from its back court of Lefteris Akepsimaidis (18 points, 7 assists last week) and Giannis Demertzis (16 points, 6 assists). And they’ll need help from newcomer Andreas Kanonidis, (15 points, 5 rebounds last week) and Vagel Sakellariou (15 points).

Christmas records double-double; gives shout-out to young Maroussi

Lampros Tsontzos

This one is what they call a “good loss.” Maroussi’s veterans are gone, so the back-ups and some teen-aged kids from the junior squad gave it their best shot. The visitors from Cretewon 92-80, but young Maroussi (0-18) was in the game the whole way, and led by six points in the third quarter.

Halftime adjustments: Dionte Christmas (center) and Zack Wright talk strategy with an assistant coach.

Even the league’s leading scorer, Dionte Christmas, was impressed. Maroussi “held” Christmas to 21 points and 13 rebounds — his first double-double of the season. After the game, the former Temple star tweeted that he likes the team.

“Those young guys played real hard and had a lot of heart. I respect that team,” he tweeted.

Zack Wright also scored 21 points for Rethymno (11-7) on 9 of 11 shooting. Wright added four rebounds and three steals.

Considering Rethymno’s firepower and Maroussi’s lack thereof, they must feel pretty confident coming out of this one. Five Maroussi players scored in double figures, led by Lefteris Akepsimaidis (18 points, 7 assists). Giannis Demertzis had 16 points and 6 assists. Seventeen-year-old center Lampros Tsontzos pulled down 10 rebounds.

Maroussi led 44-41 at halftime but Rethymno’s Giorgos Koumoulos hit back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 47. Wright put Rethymno ahead for good late in the third when he drove, was fouled and hit both free throws for a 61-59 lead.

The visitors gave themselves breathing room when Koumoulos hit back-to-back 3-pointers again, making it 77-66 with seven minutes remaining. A Wright steal and long pass to Brent Petway for a dunk (see video) made it 83-71 at the 3:30 mark. Maroussi pulled within six points, but got no closer.

For Maroussi, it was the first time this season not having either leading scorer Nestoras Kommatos (20.4 ppg) or leading playmaker Yannis Gagaloudis (15 ppg, 6 apg) on the court. Like two starters before them, Kommatos (to Italy) and Gagaloudis (to Cyprus) left because of Maroussi’s financial problems.

Petway dunk:

Christmas 3-pointer: