Keravnos Strovolou is the Champion for the 2007-2008 season!!
It is now fact,
Keravnos Strovolou is
the champion of the Cyprus league for the first time in seven years
(their last title coming during the 2000-2001 season).
Keravnos Strovolou beat
Aspis Apoel Nicosia 71-66 in a game which finished just some
minutes ago, and won the title!! The Cypriot captain,
Giorgos Anastasiadis (194-G/F-77) was the MVP of the game and
proved once more why he is considered to be the top Cypriot player
of the past decade, even though some doubted him this season.
Eurobasket.com, though, was always on the site of the captain of
Strovolos and Cyprus NT and has criticized the 'basketball experts'
who doubted the jewel of Cyprus Basketball.
In regards to the game now, it was a real
derby, as expected and as all the games between these two teams have
been over the last two decades.
Keravnos Strovolou took an early lead and never
lost it until the end. The two teams under the pressure of the game
and its importance started the game quite nervously. During the
first quarter, Keravnos took a lead of 10 points at 17-7.
Aspis Apoel Nicosia's top performer Jo-Jo Garcia (who was very
good, as he has been in all of the games against Keravnos while
wearing the Apoel jersey) then cut the deficit to 5, with a personal
5-0 run. The top player in this first quarter was Bryant Smith, who
scored 6 points. During the second half, Keravnos had some serious
problems as two of their starters and important tools,
Aleksandar Radojevic (220-C-76, college:
Barton County CC) and Hart, were called for their third personal
foul just 14 and 16 minutes into the game. This was when Apoel made
its comeback (especially after
Aleksandar Radojevic's third foul, as he was amazing in his
defending duties up until that time). The score became 27-25 and
then 38-31 at the half. In the 2nd half,
Giorgos Anastasiadis took over. In the third quarter there was
only one team on the court, and that team was Keravnos Strovolou.
The Strovolos team, with a very strong defence and very good
peripheral game, took the initiatives and took what would become the
largest lead of the game, at 11 points, 47-36, with 3:23 left in the
3rd quarter.
Aspis Apoel Nicosia reacted and cut the Keravnos lead to 51-43
at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth and most crucial quarter,
Aspis Apoel Nicosia tried to take the control of the game, and
the yellow players of Yiangoullis managed to do so and cut the
deficit down to two points. However,
Giorgos Anastasiadis took his gun and with his passion and
spirit like a real captain a difficult time showed his guts, and
like all the games between Strovolos against Apoel, lead his team to
a great victory, 71-66, and a title for Strovolos and
Paris Papaellinas 's team.
Aspis Apoel: Van Dorpe 3, Pantouris 13, Garcia
20, Radunovic 4, Hansen 5, Miseta 3, Jones 7, Wheller 11
Statements
At the end of the game the MVP of the game,
Giorgos Anastasiadis, stated that the Cypriot players were the
key to the success and won the title, as Keravnos during the seazon
had many difficulties with the foreigners and especially the
American players, due to injuries.
Eurobasket.com, congratulates the winning team
of Keravnos Strovolou and wishes all the best to the European games
of the coming season.
