Making the All Star team is a longshot for Maroussi stars Nestoras Kommatos and Yannis Gagaloudis, but stranger things have happened. After all, what’s the likelihood of a team going winless through 15 games, losing in almost every way imaginable?
Nestoras Kommatos
Kommatos and Gagaloudis, both Greek, are certainly deserving, as are players on other clubs. However, league powerhouses Panathinaikos and Olympiakos have huge fan bases, giving their players the inside track. Of course, they’re very good, too.
The March 4 game features ‘Greek Stars vs. Rest of the World.’ Fan voting is open through Feb. 22. So far, there have been 29,000 votes for Greek players and 17,000 for the league’s international players. Fans can vote at the league’s website, http://www.esake.gr. (Google Translate helps; Kommatos translates to ‘Party’).
Nine of 13 players on the Greek roster last year were from either Panathinaikos (six) or Olympiakos (three). The Greeks won the (no-defense) game 141-122.
Entering last weekend’s game, Gagaloudis was leading the league in assists, with 5.7 per game, although he had none in Saturday’s loss during which he was ejected for protesting a no-call (see ‘Maroussi falls short again’). His 15.5 points per game puts him in the top 10 of scoring. He was an All Star in 2006.
Yannis Gagaloudis
Kommatos averages just under 20 points per game, which is second to league leader Dionte Christmas (20 ppg), a Temple alum who plays for Reythmno. The 34-year-old Kommatos was an All Star in 2003 and 2004.
Maroussi’s players have performed under considerable stress, having been underpaid all season long. The financially strapped club — once a power like Panathinaikos and Olympiakos — is headed for relegation.
Christmas seems a likely choice for the ‘Rest of World’ team, especially after a 41-point output (eight 3-pointers) in a recent loss to Olympiakos.
Still, even the international team is typically heavy with Panathinaikos and Olympiakos players. Last year, the two teams had five of the 12 spots. Mike Baptiste (Panathinaikos) was the top vote-getter overall with 3,760 votes last year.
Other international candidates include Zack Wright and Brent Petway (Reythmno), Marcus “Mo” Hatten (Colossus Rhodes), Alex Stepheson and Jon Diebler (Panionios), Aron Baynes, Jimmy Baxter, and Romel Beck (Ikaros), Darryl Thompson and Nana Harding (Ilysiakos), J.R. Giddens (PAOK), and Kyle Hines (Olympiakos). Other Panathinaikos internationals include Steven Smith, Mike Logan, Sarunas Jasikevicius, and Romain Sato.
kingsofmaroussi 