In a game that turned into a derby from the second half, PAOK clinched a valuable win and left Nice with the pink card, beating Ionikos 69-66 for the postponed game of Stoiximan Basket League Game 11. The hosts were without Giannis Athinaiou, who was struggling with an injury, while the Thessalonians were without Asili Toliopoulos. The difference came from Phil Green, Dikefalos’ most recent transfer, who set the tone for a second-half counterattack and scored the crucial last-minute three.

PAOK had the title of favorite of the game and confirmed it, even if it was difficult to sink the Nikaians further in the standings. The first scorers for PAOK were Green with 18 and Jones with 17 points, while for Ionikos German with 22 and Gondikas with 12 stood out.

The race

Ionikos’ start of the game was better as the Nice team played defensive defense against the visitors and made it difficult for PAOK to develop aggressively. The hosts, with German, Giuseppe and Gondika leading the way, took a five-point lead in the game at a time when Thessaloniki had an early problem with fouls. In the second ten minutes, the difference shot up in double digits up to 13 points, with Thessaloniki looking for solutions against Gondikas and German, going into the dressing room with a +9 difference for the hosts.

PAOK put on a very strong performance in the second half, running a small streak and getting close to five points. It took Ionikos nearly three minutes to score in the third period, which he managed with a Gondikas shot. From that point on, Phil Jones acted, doing it all on the ground and ultimately deciding the match with a crucial last-minute three-pointer, giving the biceps team the win.

THE REFEREES: Manos, Symeonidis, Katrachouras

THE TEN MINUTES: 19-15, 40-31, 56-52, 66-69

IONIC (Segura): Mustafa 5 (6 rebounds), Koloveros 4, German 22 (4/10 three points, 5 assists), Gondikas 12 (5/11 two points, 12 rebounds), Giouzelis 4 (6 rebounds), Hatzikyriakos, Tzolos , Arsolos 3 (1), Parker 10 (2), Langford, Moses 6 (3/6 two points).

PAOK (Lykogiannis): Christodoulou 6 (2 assists), DiLeo, Mantzaris, Jones 17 (8/15 two points), Jankovic 9 (!), Rivers 11 (2), Li 2, Green 18 (5/6 three points), Love 4 (1), Kamarianos 2, Kamberidis

Group Stats – Ionian: 15/32 two points, 8/26 three points, 12/19 shots, 40 rebounds (27+13), 10 assists, 11 errors, 4 steals, 4 blocks.

Team Stats – PAOK: 18/40 two points, 9/19 three points, 6/14 shots, 37 rebounds (27+10), 19 assists, 11 errors, 4 steals, 3 blocks.

The following duties of the teams: In the 15th game of the league, Ionikos meets Aris in Thessaloniki (13/2, 17:00 CEST), while PAOK host Promitheas Patras (13/2, 20:00 CEST).