OPAP Basket League Round 12: Keravnos beat AEK Larnaca by two after a very close game

What a coincidence that all visitors won their games. Here is the last round review presented by ESL.

The most exciting game of round 12 in the OPAP Basket League took place in Larnaca. This derby game ended with only two-point home defeat of second-best AEK Larnaca (8-2) to top-ranked Keravnos (11-0) 70-68 in the game for the first place. It ended at the same time the six-game winning streak of AEK Larnaca. The guests took control from the first minutes by winning the initial quarter 22-15. But AEK Larnaca won second period 18-14. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. It was a good game for the former international power forward Anthony King (206-85, college: Miami, FL) who led his team to a victory with 21 points and 7 rebounds. American guard Josh Hagins (185-94, college: UALR, agency: Haylett Sports) contributed with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. American guard Isaac Hamilton (196-94, college: UCLA) replied with 18 points and 6 rebounds for AEK Larnaca. Undefeated Keravnos have an impressive 11-game winning streak. Defending champion maintains first position with 11-0 record. AEK Larnaca at the other side keeps the second place with two games lost. Keravnos are looking forward to face AEL (#8) in Limassol in the next round and are hoping to win another game. AEK Larnaca will play on the road against Apoel (#4) in Nicosia and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Important game to mention about took place in Nicosia. Fifth ranked E.N. Paralimni (5-5) saved a 2-point victory on the road edging 7th ranked Omonia (3-8) 78-76 on Saturday evening. American players dominated the game. Worth to mention a great performance of forward Gerald Blackshear (206-94, college: Detroit Mercy) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 21 points and 12 rebounds and Dalan Ancrum who added 22 points and 7 rebounds during the contest. The best for the losing side was point guard David Nichols (183-96, college: FSU) with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists (went 7 for 7 at the free throw line). E.N. Paralimni maintains fifth position with 5-5 record. Omonia at the other side keeps the seventh place with eight games lost. E.N. Paralimni will play against bottom-ranked APOP (#9) in Paphou in the next round. Omonia will have a break next round.
Another interesting game was a derby match between two local teams from Nicosia: Apoel (#4) and Etha (#6). Etha was defeated at home 81-87 and even the fact of playing on their own court did not help. American players dominated also this game. The winners were led by Jalone Friday who had that evening a double-double by scoring 21 points and 11 rebounds. Even 31 points and 9 rebounds by Jeremy Smith did not help to save the game for Etha. Apoel maintains fourth position with 6-5 record. Loser Etha keeps the sixth place with seven games lost. Apoel will meet at home league's second-placed AEK Larnaca in the next round and it may be the game of the week. Etha will play against Apollon (#3) in Limassol and hope to secure a win.
The game between 9th ranked APOP (1-10) and third ranked Apollon (8-3) in Paphou ended with biggest points difference. Guests from Limassol beat APOP 89-76. The best player for the winners was Malik Hines who had a double-double by scoring 15 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. Apollon have a solid three-game winning streak. They maintain third position with 8-3 record having just three points less than leader Keravnos. APOP lost tenth consecutive game. Newly promoted team stay at the bottom place with ten games lost. Apollon's next round opponent will be Etha (#6) in Nicosia. APOP will play on the road against E.N. Paralimni and hope to win that game.

AEK Larnaca - Keravnos 68-70

The most exciting game of round 12 in the OPAP Basket League took place in Larnaca. This derby game ended with only two-point home defeat of second-best AEK Larnaca (8-2) to top-ranked Keravnos (11-0) 70-68 in the game for the first place. It ended at the same time the six-game winning streak of AEK Larnaca. The guests took control from the first minutes by winning the initial quarter 22-15. But AEK Larnaca won second period 18-14. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. It was a good game for the former international power forward Anthony King (206-85, college: Miami, FL) who led his team to a victory with 21 points and 7 rebounds. American guard Josh Hagins (185-94, college: UALR, agency: Haylett Sports) contributed with a double-double by scoring 15 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. Four Keravnos players scored in double figures. American guard Isaac Hamilton (196-94, college: UCLA) replied with 18 points and 6 rebounds and Canadian-Nigerian forward Derek Ogbeide (203-97, college: Georgia) added 9 points and 14 rebounds in the effort for AEK Larnaca. Keravnos have an impressive 11-game winning streak. Defending champion maintains first position with 11-0 record. AEK Larnaca at the other side keeps the second place with two games lost. Keravnos are looking forward to face AEL (#8) in Limassol in the next round and are hoping to win another game. AEK Larnaca will play on the road against Apoel (#4) in Nicosia and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
AEK Larnaca: I.Hamilton 18+6reb, Z.Brown 13+8reb+1ast, D.Ogbeide 9+14reb+1ast, D.Thomas 8+7reb+3ast, I.Panteli 6+1reb+8ast, E.Ahmad 5+5reb+2ast
Keravnos: A.King 21+7reb+1ast, J.Hagins 15+10reb+4ast, J.O'Brien 11+7reb, A.Rorie 10+4reb+1ast, N.Stylianou 6+3reb, R.Odom 4+2reb+1ast

Omonia - E.N. Paralimni 76-78

Important game to mention about took place in Nicosia. Fifth ranked E.N. Paralimni (5-5) saved a 2-point victory on the road edging 7th ranked Omonia (3-8) 78-76 on Saturday evening. Omonia was tied at the half but could not keep up in last two quarters eventually losing the game. American players dominated the game. Worth to mention a great performance of forward Gerald Blackshear (206-94, college: Detroit Mercy) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 21 points and 12 rebounds and swingman Dalan Ancrum (198-96, college: W.Illinois) who added 22 points and 7 rebounds during the contest. The best for the losing side was point guard David Nichols (183-96, college: FSU) with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists (went 7 for 7 at the free throw line) and center Jailen Gill (203-96, college: UT Martin) produced a double-double by scoring 13 points and 13 rebounds. E.N. Paralimni maintains fifth position with 5-5 record. Omonia at the other side keeps the seventh place with eight games lost. E.N. Paralimni will play against bottom-ranked APOP (#9) in Paphou in the next round. Omonia will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Omonia: D.Nichols 21+5reb+5ast, S.Chaffee 14+10reb+1ast, J.Gill 13+13reb, P.Markou 9+1reb, Q.Campbell 8+3reb+3ast, T.Georgios 6+3reb+3ast
E.N. Paralimni: D.Ancrum 22+7reb+2ast, G.Blackshear 21+12reb, J.Williams 17+2reb+7ast, I.Papadopoulos 8+7reb+1ast, A.Durham 7+6reb+3ast, C.Pirillis 2+4reb

APOP - Apollon 76-89

The game between 9th ranked APOP (1-10) and third ranked Apollon (8-3) in Paphou ended with biggest points difference. Guests from Limassol beat APOP 89-76. The game was mostly controlled by Apollon. APOP was better in fourth quarter 27-22. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They dominated down low during the game scoring 68 of its points in the paint compared to APOP's 24. Apollon players were unselfish on offense dishing 22 assists. The best player for the winners was American center Malik Hines (208-96, college: McNeese St.) who had a double-double by scoring 15 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. The former international point guard Stefanos Iliadis (185-94, college: S.Florida) chipped in 18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals. At the other side the best for losing team was American power forward Jaywuan Hill (203-89, college: SW Baptist) who recorded 20 points and 6 rebounds and his fellow American import point guard Phil Taylor (178-91, college: Shorter) added 18 points and 6 rebounds respectively. Five Apollon and four APOP players scored in double figures. Apollon have a solid three-game winning streak. They maintain third position with 8-3 record having just three points less than leader Keravnos. APOP lost tenth consecutive game. Newly promoted team stay at the bottom place with ten games lost. Apollon's next round opponent will be Etha (#6) in Nicosia. APOP will play on the road against E.N. Paralimni and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
APOP: D.Charalambos 20+3reb+2ast, J.Hill 20+6reb+1ast, P.Taylor 18+6reb+3ast, I.Thomas 12+7reb+5ast, A.Stover 4+6reb, A.Aggelakos 2+2reb+4ast
Apollon: S.Iliadis 18+6reb+5ast, L.O'Reilly 16+2reb+6ast, M.Hines 15+12reb+5ast, R.Lewis 15+1reb+4ast, A.Jackson 13+6reb, R.Eleftheriou 4+2reb

Etha - Apoel 81-87

Another interesting game was a derby match between two local teams from Nicosia: Apoel (#4) and Etha (#6). Etha was defeated at home 81-87 and even the fact of playing on their own court did not help. The guests trailed by 2 points after first quarter, but they rallied back to get the 8-point lead at the halftime and eventually won the game 87-81. Apoel made 16-of-18 free shots (88.9 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists comparing to just 8 passes made by Etha's players. American players dominated also this game. The winners were led by center Jalone Friday (206-96, college: N.Mexico St.) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 21 points and 11 rebounds and point guard Jarvis Garrett (182-95, college: URI) supported him with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals. Even 31 points and 9 rebounds by guard Jeremy Smith (190-95, college: Nicholls St.) did not help to save the game for Etha. Guard Tramaine Isabell (185-95, college: St.Louis) added 14 points and 8 rebounds. Four Apoel and five Etha players scored in double figures. Apoel maintains fourth position with 6-5 record. Loser Etha keeps the sixth place with seven games lost. Apoel will meet at home league's second-placed AEK Larnaca in the next round and it may be the game of the week. Etha will play against Apollon (#3) in Limassol and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Etha: J.Smith 31+9reb+2ast, T.Isabell 14+8reb+3ast, D.Harris 13+8reb, A.Adger 11+4reb, P.Papamichael 10+5reb+1ast, R.Kissoonlal 2+5reb+2ast
Apoel: J.Friday 21+11reb+1ast, J.Garrett 18+5reb+9ast, W.Graves 16+9reb+1ast, I.Giannaras 10+1reb+2ast, C.Loizides 9+2reb+4ast, V.Kounas 7+1reb+3ast



Tags : ANTHONY KING, KERAVNOS STROVOLOU, CYPRIOT BASKETBALL