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:

Don’t pull plug: Five signs of life (Video)

Nikos Linardos

Last weekend’s 92-80 loss to Rethymno extended Maroussi’s season-long losing streak to 18. But basically it was Week 1 of the new-look Maroussi. Four starters have left the cash-strapped club in the past month, the most recent being league-leading scorer Nestoras Kommatos, who joined his new team in Italy last Friday.

But coach Nikos Linardos must at least be mildly optimistic. His youngsters — the starting center is still in high school — play with heart and have nothing to lose. Here are a few points of optimism if you are a Maroussi fan heading into this weekend’s game at Peristeri (which at 6-12 is, dare I say, beatable?):

1. Turnovers: Point guard Lefteris Akepsimaidis, 24, protects the ball. Yannis Gagaloudis (now in Cyprus) led the league in assists (6 per game) and scored 15.5 points per game. He could make something from nothing. But he also led the league in turnovers (4 per game). Akepsimaidis had 2 turnovers Saturday along with 18 points and 7 assists. Two weeks ago, with Gagaloudis out of the lineup, Akepsimaidis didn’t turn it over once. In his past three games, he’s turned it over three times. Backcourt partner Giannis Demertzis (16 points, 6 assists Saturday) has 2 turnovers in the past three games.

2. Rebounding: Maroussi got hammered on the boards two weeks ago in a 40-point loss to Panionios, which had 43 rebounds to Maroussi’s 19. On Saturday, Maroussi outrebounded Rethymno 30 to 28.

3. Lampros Tsontzos: The 17-year-old center is staying out of foul trouble and gaining confidence. He played 32 minutes Saturday and recorded 10 rebounds (half on the offensive end). His only scoring was one free throw, but that will improve with time. Fellow 17-year-old big man Dimitrios Agravanis is more foul prone right now, but shows promise. He had 4 rebounds in 11 minutes Saturday. Both teenagers are 6-10.

4. New blood: In his debut, Andreas Kanonidis, 20, scored 15 points and had 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals (see video below). He previously was under contract with Panionios.

5. Shooting: Maroussi shot 56 percent inside the 3-point line Saturday, compared to 48 percent against Panionios. Five players scored in double figures Saturday. Vagel Sakellariou scored 15 points after averaging 3.3 ppg entering the game.

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).

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:

Can Maroussi stop Christmas?

Let’s see. Looks like engineers and lawyers are on strike (http://livingingreece.gr/strikes/), but not pilots and air traffic controllers. So, Maroussi’s opponent tomorrow — Rethymno — should arrive as planned in Athens sometime today from the island of Crete.

Maroussi players celebrating back in '01

That’s bad news for winless Maroussi, of course, because now they’ll have to face Dionte Christmas and Company tomorrow afternoon. Temple alum Christmas enters the game as the Greek league’s leading scorer (19.4 ppg). Maroussi’s Nestoras Kommatos (20.4 ppg) held that title until yesterday, when he signed with a team in Italy. Christmas, who played briefly in 2009 for the Philadelphia 76ers, scored a season high 41 points against league-leading Olympiakos.

The departure of Kommatos (see ‘Arrivederci’ post) means we won’t get to see what all of Athens — ok, me — has been buzzing about: a Larry Bird–Dominique Wilkins ’88 Game 7 style shootout between the league’s top scorers. (I just went to youtube and watched a 10-minute clip of that game. Good times, good times — and RIP Reggie Lewis and DJ).

Ok, so what will we see? Probably some insane dunks from Brent Petway of Michigan and Harlem Globetrotters fame. Christmas will hit some threes (he’s shooting 38 percent from out there), and point guard Zack Wright will do a little bit of everything. Wright’s efficient play has earned him five player of the week honors this season. The 6-2 Wright is the team’s leading rebounder (5.3 rpg) and he can throw down dunks, as well.

In a win last week, Christmas and Wright combined for 12 steals. Maroussi’s ball handlers, Lefteris Akepsimaidis and Giannis Demertzis, will need to be extra careful.

Since Kommatos left the building, cash-strapped Maroussi has just four professional players remaining on its roster.

The team had used teenagers from its junior squad to fill in gaps earlier this season, but now the kids are being asked to play significant minutes. Most of them are just 17 years old.

On the bright side, their two young centers Lampros Tsontzos and Dimitrios Agravanis are both 6-10. Realistically, Rethymno (10-7) should have the game wrapped up by halftime. What I would do, though, is start both Tsontzos and Agravanis, feed them the ball and encourage them to shoot literally every time they touch the ball. They’ve been playing pass-first with Kommatos on the floor.

If the two big kids can draw some attention, maybe 3-point specialist Prodromos Nikolaidis will find some room. Under pressure last week, Nikolaidis went 0-for-3.

Oh, and they should empty the bench to use up all of their fouls. Rethymno isn’t great from the foul line: Christmas and Petway, both 70 percent average, and Wright’s average is 59.4 percent.

Just thinking out loud.