By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Pulling away in the fourth period, Olympiacos avoided an upset in Peace and Friendship Stadium on Sunday. The reigning league and cup champions in Greece edged out Aris Midea, 85-77. Improving to 21-2 was the prize in Round 1 of the Top 6 of the Stoiximan Basket League.
Behind 9/14 field goals, Alec Peters matched his best scoring performance in the 2023-24 campaign with 28 points to go with five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Team captain Kostas Papanikolaou was rested. More missing players extended to Ignas Brazdeikis, Filip Petrusev, Nikola Milutinov, and Luke Sikma.
Coming into the Top 6 with a one-game lead over the Reds in an essentially two-way race for homecourt advantage throughout the Playoffs, Panathinaikos Aktor will not budge from a 21-1 record. The home game against Promitheas, originally scheduled to tip off at 20:00 CET, was postponed. HEBA did not immediately announce a makeup date.
Opening the second part of the Regular Season on Saturday, Peristeri bwin went up to 16-7 with a 98-90 victory against Kolossos H Hotels. Joe Ragland paved the way with 15 points and seven assists for the team coached by Vassilis Spanoulis.
AEK Betsson, Lavrio Megabolt, PAOK mateco, Maroussi, Karditsa Iaponiki and Apollon Carna, reduced to the Playouts, compete for seeds between seventh and twelfth over the next few weeks. The top two will progress to the Playoffs and the team ranking at the bottom will be relegated to the second-tier division of the country.