Aris suffered a serious blow by Panellinios, which won in Alexandrio Melathro by 48-60 (half-time score: 24-32) for Match Day 11 of the Hellenic Championships 2009-2010 and left the “yellows” quite behind them in the race for a spot in the top 4 of the standings. Fotis Katsikaris’s team performed below par and couldn’t step up to their opponents’ level, who imposed themselves thanks to their tough game, sometimes aided by the referees’ tolerance.
The first period was very bad for Aris, which was disappointing in offense (2/13 field goals). Panellinios took advantage of it and ran on the fast break in every chance. After the initial 2-0, scored by Miles at 8:52 before the end of the quarter, the “yellows” couldn’t take the lead any more in the match. On the contrary, the visitors built an important lead, which was extended to 13 points (7-20) thanks to a three-pointer by Smith (he scored 12 in the first quarter) in the last second.
Aris was kept low in scoring during the biggest part of the second period, as well. Until 17’, they had scored just two shots (both from outside 6.25 m.), thus Ilias Zouros’s team could firmly keep a double-digit lead, getting it as high as 16 (10-26 at 15’). However, in the last 3 minutes of the first half the “yellows” took advantage of a couple of offensive rebounds and managed to trim the difference down to 8 points (24-32) with a three-point shot by Clark just before half-time.
The visiting team got away by 13 (24-37) in the beginning of the second part, but an 8-0 run gave Aris the opportunity to get as close as it got, that was 4 points (37-41, at 3:06 before the end of the period), thanks to Chatzivrettas and Miles. Nevertheless, neither the good defense nor the passion transmitted by more than 4,000 fans could help Fotis Katsikaris’s players become more effective in attack. They didn’t score any more in the third quarter, while Davis made 5 points and helped Panellinios end it at “+9” (37-46).
The start of the fourth period was the cruncher for the “yellows”, who suffered two fast breaks within just 42 seconds of play (37-50). The disappointment and the nervousness forced them to make even more mistakes and it was all over. The visitors raised their lead up to 18 points (42-60 at 1:33 before the end) and were applauded by Aris fans after their triumph.
Referees: Christos Christodoulou (Patras), Ilias Koromilas (Athens), Kyriakos Tavoulareas (Kalamata).
Periods: 7-20, 24-32 (half-time), 37-46, 48-60.
ARIS (Fotis Katsikaris): Clark 6 (2), Betts 8, Labovic, Richardson 3 (1), Chatzivrettas 12 (2), Dikoudis 5 (1), Skordilis, Paunic 2, Kakiouzis 2, Miles 10 (1).
PANELLINIOS (Ilias Zouros): Xanthopoulos 2, Ostoic, Charalampidis 9 (1), Kalaitzis, Johnsen 2, Smith 18 (1), Georgallis, Blackney 5 (1), Kolokas, Davis 10 (2), Vougioukas 14.
