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:
kingsofmaroussi 