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| CSK-VSS Samara wins the cup !!! | |
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Keravnos failed to make the dream of winning the FIBA EuroCup Challenge a reality. The Cypriot team lost 101-81 in Samara on Thursday (29/3) in the second final and couldn't defend the 85-83 win in the first game. Disappointment is there but the season is a great success for the Strovolos team who made Cyprus proud with their European appearances. Also the fact that Keravnos won a ticket for next season's FIBA EuroCup through the competition is very positive.
Second half wreck
The second half appearance wrecked Keravnos' chances of winning the title since the 44-45 lead at the end of the half turned into 71-62 a few moments before the end of the third period. The biggest lead for the Russian team came with less than a minute to go when the score was 101-79. The final 101-81 sent the home fans into jubilation for winning the European trophy.
Good Cypriot start
But Keravnos started the game in a much better fashion. The Cypriot team took the lead from the beginning and managed to create a 7 point lead twice while halfway through the second period Keravnos took a 8 point lead 33-41 mainly thanks to King and Kosanovic who had a great appearance.
The first time Samara took the lead was a few seconds to the end of the half when the home side went in front 44-43. But Trisokkas' basket with 2 seconds on the clock gave Keravnos the lead at halftime.
Nightmare
The second part of the match was a nightmare. The last time the Cypriot visitors had the lead was at 51-52 with King. From that point on Samara took control and with some great shooting from the three-point line (the Russians finished the game with 13/23 efforts) managed to slowly built a good lead.
Last effort
Keravnos' last effort to return in the game came with a couple of minutes remaining in the third period. The 68-57 lead for Samara was turned into a 68-62 deficit thanks to Kosanovic and Trisokkas. Along with the two-point win a week earlier in Cyprus it was 4 points behind for Keravnos. But Samara quickly retook a comfortable lead and when the score board showed 81-66 for the home side three minutes into the last period it was all over.
For the rest of the game the home side gave the chance to their fans to cheer the European trophy and even finished the game with a big 20 point win.
Samara trio
Shabalkin with 24 points and 7 rebounds and Gibbs with 21 points and 5 rebounds were the standouts alongside Giorgos Diamantopoulos who scored 22 points with 6 rebounds, covering for Cook who was behind with just 3 points but with a thumping 10 assists.
Keravnos standouts
For Keravnos four players stood out with Victor King scoring 22 points. Panagiotis Trisokkas (206-C-80) scored 15 points and gathered 6 rebounds while Kosanovic added another 16 points. Finally Patrick Lee finished the game with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
Samara's great shooting from the 3-point line and slight lead in rebounding and turnovers gave the win and the trophy to the Russians.
About Keravnos, a successful European campaign comes to an end with next season finding the Strovolos team in the EuroCup probably alongside AEL.
Periods: 24-26, 44-45, 71-64, 101-81
Samara: Gibbs 21 (5), Voronov 15 (1), Shabalkin 24, Strelkin, Zelenskiy 11 (3), Cook 3, Osipov 5, Diamantopoulos 22 (4).
Keravnos: Vidakovic, Trisokkas 15 (1), Makanda 6, Anastasiadis, Erjavec, Lee 13 (1), King 22 (1), Koul 9, Kosanovic 16 (1), Zahariou. |
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| CSK-VVS Samara hosts Keravnos tonight in the last game of Eurocup Challenge this season | |
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by Eurobasket News - Mar 29, 2007 | | | CSK-VVS Samara hosts Keravnos from Cyrpus in the last game of Fiba Eurocup Challenge this season tonight. The 85-83 victory of Keravnos against Samara for the first leg of the FIBA EuroCup Challenge finals did not give a big advantage to the Cypriot team. Belarus Alexander Koul (215-C-75, agency: Court Side, college: George Washington) led the winners that time with 21 points. Nikita Shabalkin (204-F-86) had a great game for the guests with 25 points and 13 rebounds.
It is expected that Russian team would celebrate the win, however the fans of Samara should remember the confident win by Keravnos over Dnipro in Ukraine. In the beginning of March Cypriot team advantaged 71:91 in a road game that gave them an aggregate 163:138 win. The question is still opened.
FINAL
29.03.2007
Samara, Russia
CSK-VVS Samara - Keravnos (Cyrpus) (83-85) |
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| FIBA EuroCup Challenge: It's all still open | |
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| | | It's not over yet! The 85-83 victory of Keravnos against Samara for the first leg of the FIBA EuroCup Challenge finals may not give a big advantage to the Cypriot team but does give them hope for the second match in Russia in a week (29/3). Patrick Lee's two free-throws in dead time gave the win to the Strovolos side.
The game that took place in Nicosia (22/3) was a thriller from beginning to end. Both teams were close by in the score with Keravnos keeping a small lead of around 3-5 points through-out the game.
The biggest lead for Keravnos came little before the end of the first period (21-13, +8) while Samara managed to create a 3 point lead 65-68 with 6 minutes to the end of the match.
In the final stages of the game it was Koul and Makanda who kept Keravnos alive with some crucial baskets with the home team coming back from 79-81 to make it 85-83 which was the final score.
Alexander Koul (215-C-75) was the MVP of the game with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Three other players of Keravnos also had a great game. Patrick Lee scored 19 points and gathered 8 rebounds; Victor King made 18 points and 8 assists while Panagiotis Trisokkas scored 15 points and gathered 8 rebounds.
From Samara it was Nikita Shabalkin (204-F-86) who created the most trouble to Keravnos with his 25 points and 13 rebounds. Giorgos Diamantopoulos scored 18 points.
Keravnos had the support of approximately 1000 fans.
Periods: 23-22, 39-39, 63-63, 85-83
Keravnos: Trisokkas 15, Makanda 8 (1), Anastasiadis 2, Erjavec, Lee 19 (3), King 18 (1), Koul 21, Kosanovic, Mijajlovic 2.
Samara: Gibbs 15 (3), Ulyanko, Voronov 7, Shabalkin 25 (13 rebounds), Zelenskiy 3 (1), Cook 13 (4), Diamantopoulos 18 (2), Osipov 2. |
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| FIBA EuroCup Challenge: Keravnos triumphed in Ukraine and advanced to the final! | |
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| | | An amazing Keravnos crushed Dnipro in Ukraine 91-71 and advanced to the FIBA EuroCup Challenge finals! The Cypriot team traveled to Ukraine with a 5 point cushion and made sure not to allow the home side to keep their hopes for qualifying alive.
From the beginning Keravnos took the lead (0-4) and the last time the both teams were close was at the 6-6 score line. From that point on Keravnos dominated on the court and finished the first period in front 13-23. At halftime the Strovolos team was in the lead by 16 points (32-48) after a great show by Panagiotis Trisokkas who had 11 points and 6 rebounds during that time.
The third period again belonged to Keravnos. The Cypriot visitors increased their lead to 19, (53-72) after Makanda and King gave valuable points to their side. The Cameroonian scored 6 points early in the third period while King took over and kept the safe lead for the Cypriot team.
In the final period Dnipro tried to return back to claiming the win. The Ukrainians only managed to drop the margin down to 13 (66-79) but Keravnos with six players playing exceptional (Trisokkas, Makanda, Lee, King, Koul and Kosanovic) left Dnipro with no chance to turn things over.
A great team effort brought the 91 points of the final score and sent the Cypriot team into the finals of the competition. Also, Keravnos won the right to compete in the FIBA EuroCup of next season.
Bernard King  (196-G-81) with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists was Keravnos' best player while Panagiotis Trisokkas with 17 points and 7 rebounds was also a major factor for the win. Kosanovic, Makanda and Lee also played great.
Periods: 13-23, 32-48, 53-72, 71-91
Dnipro: Kobzystyy 4, Markov 2, Ivanov 11 (1), Koval 11 (1), Agapov, Zavackas 13 (2), Panchenco 7 (1), Matyukevych 10, Lydeka 3, Korniyenko, Vilkhovetskiy 10 (1).
Keravnos: Trisokkas 17, Makanda 13 (2), Anastasiadis 5, Erjavec 2, Lee 11, King 14, Koul 9, Kosanovic 14 (3), Zahariou, Mijajlovic 6. |
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| CSK-VVS Samara reached the Final of Eurocup Challenge | |
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by Eurobasket News - Mar 8, 2007 | | |
CSK-VVS Samara qualified to the Final of Eurocup Challenge. The Russian team downed Pizzaexpress Apollon 76:50 in the second Leg of the semifinals. Due to the loss in the first leg by only 2 points CSK-VVS Samara booked the ticket for the final. In another game Dnipro Dnepropetrovsk should beat Keravnos not less than 5 points in order to reach the final as well. Their game has only started.
CSK-VVS Samara had a more confident win over Pizzaexpress Apollon. Trailing by 75:77 in the first game Russian team looked more aggressive at home. Nikita Shabalkin (204-F-86) led the winners with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Kelvin Gibbs (200-F-78, agency: Passing Lane, college: Pepperdine) posted in 18 points and made 8 rebounds, while Omar Cook (186-G-82, college: St.John's) added 13 points. Earnest Shelton (191-G-82, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Alabama) and John Oden (206-F/C, college: S.Indiana) top-scored for the guests with 16 points.
Dnipro Dnepropetrovsk due to the great end in the first leg will still have chances to join CSK-VVS Samara. Keravnos however played the home game much better and led almost the whole time. Keravnos built their lead to 14 after first quarter in the first game and increased their advantage to as many 19 midway through the second after a Giorgos Anastasiadis's bucket. Keravnos were up by 15 after three quarters and led by double-digits until the final minutes of the game. Ukrainian team reduced and now being the hosts might control the game. Anyway we expect another great game from two teams.
CSK-VVS Samara - Pizzaexpress Apollon 76:50
CSK-VVS Samara: Nikita Shabalkin 26+10 rebs, Kelvin Gibbs 18+8 rebs, Omar Cook 13
Pizzaexpress Apollon: Earnest Shelton 16, John Oden 16, Aleksandar Damjanovic (206-C/F-73) 9
18.00 Dnipro Dnepropetrovsk - Keravnos
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| FIBA EuroCup: Second half tragedy for AEL in Ukraine | |
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AEL Limassol suffered a heavy loss in the first game of the quarterfinal round of the FIBA EuroCup. The Cypriot team lost in Ukraine against Azovmash by 25, 88-63 and now trails the series 1-0. The visitors crumbled in the second half after an even first part which both teams were tied 34-34.
The second game will take part in Limassol on March 9th and AEL needs the win to tie the series and return to Ukraine for an all decisive third game. If the Cypriot champions play like they did in the first half then they have every right to hope for a win against Azovmash.
The game:
Both teams started the game evenly with AEL leading 2-6 at the beginning. Azovmash regained the lead at 13-12 and built a 8 point lead, 22-14 a few moments before the end of the period. AEL with a basket came six points behind 22-16 at the end of the first quarter.
The second period belonged to AEL mainly thanks to King and Randle. The visitors, who traveled to Ukraine with a support of 100 fans, tied the score halfway through the period (28-28) and remained near to the home side until the end of the half (34-34). The second part was predicted to be a thriller.
But no thriller occurred. Azovmash returned on the court decisive to regain a big margin and did exactly that. With a 14-2 run the Ukrainians shot their lead to a double figure and never looked back. The difference grew to 15 points (56-41) a minute before the end of the period. Liadellis and Bajramovic were impressive while El-Amin also helped a lot.
The rest of the game went by with the margin around 25 points and AEL unable to come close. So Azovmash took a well deserved victory and now aims to finish the series in Limassol. But AEL has proven this season that they are capable for anything and one thing is for sure, they won't give up.
Game analysis:
AEL lost the game thanks to their bad percentage and the lack of concentration at the beginning of the third period when Azovmash created some impressive runs.
2/19 three-pointers is an unacceptable stat for a leading team in Europe and the main reason they lost the game. 10 missed free-throws (17/27) are also a lot. Azovmash had 2 rebounds more (38-36) than AEL while assists and turnovers were also close for both teams. So it's obvious that the bad shooting was the main factor for the loss.
Standouts:
Three players for Azovmash finished the game with 15 points. Khalid El-Amin (178-G-79) also gave 5 assists; Liadellis helped a lot in the organizing factor while Bajramovic dashed down 8 rebounds. Botichev's 9 rebounds and 3 assists were also positive for the Ukrainians.
For AEL, the second half was a tragedy they would want to forget as soon as possible. Randle and King were the top scorers with 18 and 14 points respectively.
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