DTL EKA AEL Limassol are champions for a 5th season in a row !
DTL EKA AEL has created a dynasty in Cyprus! The Limassol
team beat APOEL 69-60 in Game 5 of the finals and won the title for the
fifth time in a row and 13th in their history! Milutin Aleksic (202-F-82) was handed the trophy by Giorgos
Chrisostomou, president of the Cyprus Basketball Federation and raised
it in front of more than 2 thousand jubilant fans of DTL EKA AEL. With
the “We are the champions†song of Queen playing it was a lovely ending
to a long and hard season for the Limassol team.
Michael Loizides, chairman of DTL EKA AEL, during the press conference
of the FIBA All-Star Game on March 20th said that his goals for the team
are to make them a dynasty in Cyprus and a powerhouse in Europe. The
first goal has no doubt been achieved with the “yellows†increasing
their trophy collection to 13 titles. It's now time for the second goal
with the European expectation for next season even higher.
On Thursday morning (3rd of May) the day of Game 5 Michael Loizides
announced that if DTL EKA AEL wins the championship then he will give a
bonus of 200 thousand euros to the players to give them an extra motive
after the Federations home court punishment! A huge sum but well
deserved for the Limassol players. What a thriller!
The all decisive fifth game was a thriller with Dentalcon APOEL giving
Igors Miglinieks's team a run for their money, especially in the last
period when the 11 point lead of DTL EKA AEL was cut to one point when
the visitors created a 2-12 run. But the “Queen†of Cyprus basketball
wasn't willing to let the party to be spoiled and kept the lead giving
the chance to their fans to celebrate another title. Good start for APOEL
Dentalcon APOEL started the game much better and took a 2-5 and 6-9
lead. But two consecutive three-pointers by Milutin Aleksic put DTL EKA
AEL in front 12-9 while the Limassol team managed to build their biggest
lead in the first half when they went ahead 15-9 with three minutes to
the end of the first period.
DTL EKA AEL kept the lead to the end of the quarter with the home side
in front 18-15 at the end of the first ten minutes.
Mike King (193-G-78) and Milutin Aleksic scored 7 each for their
team while for Dentalcon APOEL
Aleksandar Radojevic (220-C-76) played well with 4 points and good
presence under the basket with rebounding. Slight lead for APOEL at halftime
In the second period it was Dentalcon APOEL who played better and
managed to go to the lockers for halftime with a slight lead 33-34.
After going in front 18-19, the Nicosia team managed to take a 4 point
lead twice but DTL EKA AEL was able to turn the 26-30 lead into 32-30.
But
Frankie King (186-G-72) led his team at the end of the first half
and helped them go in front of the score to the lockers.
The American scored 10 points in the second quarter and with a total of
14 points he led his team in scoring to that point. Good game by
Aleksandar Radojevic who made 9 points. For DTL EKA AEL, Remon Van de
Hare played well in the second period finishing with 10 points. Slow and defensive game
The first half was a slow game with both teams taking care of their
defence. Also foul problems were on the program for both teams with
three players of each side finishing the first half with 3 fouls! They
were Urbonas, Randle and Roberts for DTL EKA AEL while Lenzly, Radojevic
and Radunovic had three fouls for Dentalcon APOEL. AEL show in the third period
The third period had DTL EKA AEL written all over it. The Limassol team
dominated from the beginning and managed to build an important lead
which extended to 51-40 by the end of the quarter.
In the beginning of the penultimate period, the "yellows" created a 12-2
run and took the lead 45-36 with three minutes remaining on the clock. Andrija Ciric (199-G-80) scored a three pointer making the score
45-39 but DTL EKA AEL finished the period with a 6-1 run making the
score 51-40. Van de Hare scored 6 points in the quarter while some
important points by Mike King and Milutin Aleksic was the main reason
Igors Miglinieks' team took the double-digit lead. Exciting fourth period
What a thriller in the fourth period! Dentalcon APOEL created a 2-12 run
in the first three minutes of the last quarter and came behind by one
point 53-52 with 6'53'' remaining on the clock. But the Limassol team
didn't lose their calm at all. They answered with a 7-0 run and took an
eight point lead, 60-52. Mike King with a three-pointer made the score
63-52 with 3'40'' remaining, sending the 2000 fans of the Limassol team
in the seven heavens.
Ciric made the score 66-58 with 1'26'' to go but DTL EKA AEL wasn't
willing to let the visitors spoil the party. The Limassol team took the
win 69-60 and won the championship for the fifth time in a row! Mike King was the best player for DTL EKA AEL. The American scored
20 crucial points and was the major standout for his team.
Remon Van de Hare (222-C-82) did his best game in Cyprus and with 16
points he was a continuous threat under the baskets.
Milutin Aleksic was again very positive while Ryan Randle scored
important points, mainly in the third period.
For Dentalcon APOEL, Aleksandar Radojevic and Frankie King were the two
standouts with the Serb playing better in the last period. The away team
Center had 9 out of 10 free-throws. Ciric scored 10 points, all of them
in the second half. Mike Lenzly stood out in a negative way after having
0/6 free-throw attempts. Periods: 18-15, 33-34, 51-40, 69-60 DTL EKA AEL Limassol (Igors Miglinieks): Urbonas 4, M.
King 20 (1), Aleksic 12 (2), Roberts 5, Randle 10, Kounounis, Palalas,
Van de Hare 16, Spirou, Hlebowicki 2. Dentalcon APOEL Nicosia (Dragan Raca): Pantouris 5, F.
King 17 (3), Dalipagic 5 (1), Radunovic 6, Lenzly, Ciric 10 (2),
Radojevic 17.
Cyprus Cup final: Keravnos won the trophy!
Keravnos Strovolos won the Cyprus Cup for a third straight time and
seventh in their history after beating DTL EKA AEL 80-79 in a thriller
on Friday (20/4) evening. The winners where handed the trophy from
George Vasilakopoulos, president of FIBA Europe who was
invited to watch the big game.Both teams shared the game with DTL EKA
AEL dominating in the first half and Keravnos Cyprus College turning
things around in the second part of the final. Panagiotis
Trisokkas (206-C-80) with 19 points was the best player for the winners
and was voted MVP while Makanda with 19 points and Lee with 18 also
giving a lot to Keravnos Cyprus College. From DTL EKA AEL, Milutin
Aleksic was amazing in the first half but was carried away by his team
mediocre second half appearance.
Ryan Randle (206-F-81) was unstoppable under the basket while
Michalis Kounounis did a good job organizing the play for DTL EKA AEL.DTL
EKA AEL jump start
The Limassol side was the team that started the game in a better
fashion. Igors Miglinieks' team took the lead 4-12 halfway through the
first period but Keravnos with a comeback tied the score 15-15 at the
end of the period.
DTL EKA AEL took off nicely in the second period and with a 7-0 run
quickly took a 15-22 lead. The Limassol team continued to dominate and
thanks to Milutin Aleksic took a 14 point margin (23-37). DTL EKA AEL
kept the double digit lead until the 34-44 score when Keravnos Cyprus
College took care of their defence and managed to bring the margin down
to 8, 36-44 at the end of the first half. Second half had Keravnos written all over it The third period belonged only to Keravnos Cyprus College. The
Strovolos team took control and with Trisokkas and Makanda improving a
lot managed to come close and tie the score at 58 with 3 minutes to go
to the end of the period. The Limassol team finished the period in front
with 60-62 thanks to 7 points by Mike King in the 3rd quarter.
A thriller was set for the remainder of the game for the fans watching
on TV at the stadium and live from Eurobasket.com.
Patrick Lee put Keravnos Cyprus College in the lead for the first time
right at the beginning of the period with a three-pointer (63-62). The
score went neck to neck for the next minutes. A three-pointer of
Keravnos Cyprus College gave the team the biggest lead (70-67) up to
then which grew to 76-69 with 3 minutes left. But DTL EKA AEL with a 4-8
run came 80-77 behind with a half a minute to go. Heart stopping final seconds Ryan Randle of DTL EKA AEL turned the ball over while Keravnos
Cyprus College was unable to make the basket in their last offence. With
13 seconds to go DTL EKA AEL had the ball and called for the time-out.
Coach Miglinieks asked for a three-point shot with 3 or 4 seconds left.
But Keravnos Cyprus College with strong defence “allowed†only a
two-pointer from Randle who made the score 80-79. DTL EKA AEL tried to
foul the Keravnos Cyprus College players with 2 seconds to go but
couldn't so the trophy remained to Strovolos for a third straight year. Trisokkas the MVP Panagiotis Trisokkas with 19 points was voted MVP of the final and
was presented the trophy by Panagiotis Yiannakis, head coach of the
Greek National Team who watched the game as a guest by the Cyprus
Basketball Federation.
A few minutes later it was time for the trophy presentation. Captain
Giorgos Anastasiadis (194-G/F-77) was handed the cup from
George Vasilakopoulos, president of FIBA Europe
who was also invited to watch the Cyprus final.
The game was watched by around 2 thousand fans, mostly of AEL, who sang
for their teams in fair-play conditions.
The basketball celebration the Cyprus Basketball Organization set up was
a success, proving again that whatever the situation; Cyprus has what it
takes to host sporting events in a nice fashion. Live from Eurobasket.com
For the first time, the game was presented LIVE on Eurobasket.com with
continous score updates. 39th Cyprus Cup final
Venue: Eleftheria stadium, Nicosia Spectators: 2000 Referees: Demetriou, Christofidis, Christodoulou. Final Score: Keravnos Cyprus College - DTL EKA AEL 80-79
MVP of the final:Panagiotis Trisokkas Periods: 15-15, 36-44, 60-62, 80-79 Keravnos Cyprus College (Vassilis Fragias): Vidakovic
6, Trisokkas 19, Makanda 19 (2), Anastasiadis, Lee 18 (1), King 6, Koul,
Kosanovic 12 (3), Zahariou, Mijajlovic. DTL EKA AEL (Igors Miglinieks): Urbonas 4, King 15 (2),
Kounounis 5, Aleksic 16 (2), Randle 17, Roberts 11 (3), Van de Hare 7,
Spyrou 2, Hlebowicki 2.
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