Basketball
Final Four – Vangelis Liolios: “2,500 t-shirts will be distributed with the message ‘It’s not a war, it’s a celebration’
Vangelis Liolios pointed out that security measures will be strict for everyone and explained that the Greek Cup Final Four will see calm inside and outside the stadium.
On the eve of the Greek Cup Final Four, Vangelis Liolios highlighted the steps the EWG has taken to bring the celebration of the sport back into everyday basketball, while declaring that 2,500 t-shirts will be distributed to all those in play in “Dyo Aorakia” for the next three days, t-shirts with a clear message.
Details of what the President of the Federation said:
“I’ve said it many times, journalism is a function because it gets the message across to the fans. I would like to thank the Crete Region, who helped us a lot with the organization, as well as the Municipality of Heraklion and the Local Association, and personally Mr. Babis Markakis, who was with us from the very first moment. Motto and motto for us at the Final Four is that it’s a celebration, not a war.
That’s why 2,500 T-shirts with the slogan “It’s not a war, it’s a celebration” will be distributed to all fans and especially to the children in the semi-finals and in the final.
Whatever happens on the ground, we all need to be united outside of it. Isolate the few who distort the sport’s image. In the near future we will continue to show the positive sign of sport and not the bad mask.
I believe that with the input and contribution from all of you, the message can be spread to the sane fans. The next day is a day for all of us. We’re here to grow basketball, to help more kids rejoice and celebrate, maybe to mourn because there are wins and losses in life. I also wanted to tell you that after this year’s Final Four, if all goes well, we intend to go to a very nice Final Eight next year“.
When asked about Final Four tickets, he replied: “Know that what has been done this year will be different than what is planned for next year’s Final Eight. For the Final Four, we discussed with the teams and agreed that, for everyone’s safety and to avoid the usual suspects, ticket distribution should be handled directly by the EEC and the Local Union. The teams received some invitations. The movement of fans was not allowed, it was banned. In Crete everyone knows everyone and it is easier to control the situation.
Of course we have taken all the measures where everyone will sit. The contribution and involvement of the police is important. A second issue that we are looking into very closely is that the health protocol is being followed very strictly both on and off the pitch. Next year we are aiming for a different way of selling tickets. “Whoever enters the stadium, there are three different controls, with ID, certificate and ticket/invitation”.
For his part, Nikos Nikolopoulos (Secretary General) stated: “The picture of the board alone reveals the new form of the final phase of the cup. It is not new but forgotten because it was last organized 18 years ago. The aim and idea of the new federal administration is to upgrade all areas. In this context, we see this event as a step towards a Greek Cup upgrade that we all want. We are confident that this upgrade will be a success to give the impetus to go even further. I think we’re going to be talking about a celebration on Sunday night. In addition to the Final Four games, activities with 3on3 and a symbolic tree planting will take place on Saturday when the weather is fine. I would like to thank the Crete Region, the Municipality of Heraklion and all the relevant bodies. I am sure that we will all be happy on Sunday evening“.
When asked that the health protocol is changing from Saturday 19 February with 50% fullness at stadiums, he replied: “We’ve managed to get 2,000 people into tomorrow’s games, capacity isn’t far off going to 50%. There is a procedure very strictly followed by the police to provide the names to be checked. I don’t know if we’ll be able to add more people to the game of the finals. We are awaiting police approval. Since most of the tickets on the list are available, these people obviously have information on how to get them. In detail, we do not yet know whether they can be given. If this problem occurs, you will all be informed“.
I am a sports writer and journalist who has written for various online publications including Sportish. I’m originally from the UK but currently live in Toronto, Canada. I’m also an author on Sportish and have written several articles on a variety of sports-related topics.
Star player of Los Angeles Lakers Luka Doncic Against the background of the embarrassing defeat of Houston Rockets (96:119), he explained what the team had to change to improve the results:
“I don’t know exactly what needs to change, but something definitely needs to change. We need to figure it out, that’s what we need to do. Everyone should discuss it.”
I know JJ Redick said it would be disturbing. And that’s the way it should be.
As I said, we need to discuss this. It may be uncomfortable, but everyone needs to try harder, starting with me.
We just have to challenge each other. Everyone should challenge themselves and their teammates. “There’s no way to play the way we play, so we’ve got to be better than that.”
Source: Sport UA
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
On the night of December 25-26, as part of the Christmas games of the NBA regular season, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime, 142:128.
Nuggets’ point guard Jamal Murray played with 35 points (2/3 free throws, 3/14 two-pointers, 9/18 three-pointers) and 10 assists in this game.
The Canadian player broke the record for the most accurate three-pointers in a match by making 9 three-pointers in the Minnesota hoop. Thus, he surpassed the record of 8 three-pointers each of Stephen Curry (2024), Grayson Allen (2023), Luka Doncic (2023) and Patty Mills (2021).
Murray also became the third player in NBA Christmas history to score 35+ points, 10+ assists and 5+ 3-pointers, joining Luka Doncic and Tracy McGrady.
JAMAL MURRAY brought the heat to CHRISTMAS DAY!
🔥35 POINTS
🔥10 AST
🔥 9 15:00 (most in Christmas Day matches)He joins Luka Dončić and Tracy McGrady only in the 35-PT, 10-AST, 5-3PM matches. #NBAXmas history. pic.twitter.com/LithevHmF5
— NBA (@NBA) December 26, 2025
Source: Sport UA
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
On the evening of December 25 and the night of December 26, five Christmas games were traditionally held as part of the NBA regular season.
The most important match of the match day was played in Oklahoma, where the Thunder hosted San Antonio.
The home team started the game better and were ahead for most of the first quarter, but they missed a move 0:11 into the quarter, allowing Spurs to take the lead 41:36. Oklahoma was unable to take the lead after that, but San Antonio maintained its lead by keeping the game under control and eventually won 117-102.
The Spurs have won all three games against the Thunder this season, while Oklahoma has lost just two of the other 28 games.
The most productive player of the match was Fox, who brought 29 points to San Antonio, while Vembanyama also scored a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lakers played Houston at home and suffered a crushing defeat.
The fate of the match was decided in the first quarter, when the Rockets won by 12 points (25:37). Afterwards, they increased their advantage by completely controlling the course of the match and eventually won with a score of 119:96.
For Houston, Thompson scored 26 points and Shengyun had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Denver and Minnesota closed out game day.
The first half of the match ended in a draw. Neither team managed to take a lead of more than 9 points, and Denver entered the big break with a 2-point lead at 57:55. In the third quarter, the Nuggets made an attack of 6:0 at the beginning and 10:2 in the middle, reaching a 16-point lead, and at the end of the quarter they were ahead +15 – 90:78. The Timberwolves did not give up and made a 16:2 move midway through the fourth quarter, reaching a lead of 107:108. This gave fans a tense ending; Edwards hit a three-pointer 2 seconds before the siren, sending the game into overtime at 115:115. And there Jokic played a decisive role and scored 18 points in 5 minutes, allowing the Nuggets to win 142:138.
Jokic scored 56 points in the NBA on Christmas Day, falling just four shy of Bernard King’s record. Nikola also recorded a triple-double with 16 rebounds and 15 assists. Murray had a double-double with 35 points and 10 assists.
NBA. Regular season. Christmas Day, 25-26 December
New York – Cleveland – 126:124 (23:38, 37:20, 24:38, 42:28)
New York: Brunson (34), Hart (15), Bridges (12), Towns (11 + 14 rebounds), Anunoby (8) – start; Clarkson (25), Kolek (16 + 9 assists), Diawara (5), Hookporty (0), Robinson (0 + 12 rebounds).
cleveland: Mitchell (34 + 7 rebounds + 6 assists), Garland (20 + 10 assists), Merrill (11), Allen (7 + 9 rebounds), Wade (6) – start; Tyson (16), E. Mobley (14 + 9 rebounds), Hunter (13), Bryant (3), Ball (0).
Oklahoma – San Antonio – 102:117 (36:41, 24:28, 19:26, 23:22)
Oklahoma: Gilgeous-Alexander (22), Hartenstein (13 + 12 rebounds), Jaylen Williams (12 + 6 assists), Holmgren (10 + 12 rebounds), Dort (8) – start; Caruso (12), K. Williams (8), Wiggins (5), Joe (5), Wallace (5), Carlson (2), Barnhizer (0), Youngblood (0).
San Antonio: Fox (29), Castle (19 + 7 assists), Barnes (15), Cornet (6), Vassell (5) – start; Vembanyama (19 + 11 rebounds), Harper (12), K. Johnson (9 + 7 rebounds), McLaughlin (3), Sohan (0), Shempeni (0), Brian (0), Olynyk (0), Waters (0).
Golden State – Dallas – 126:116 (40:28, 31:30, 29:31, 26:27)
Golden State: Curry (23), Butler (14 + 9 rebounds + 9 assists), Moody (12), Dr. Green (7), Post (6) – start; Melton (16), Horford (14), Podziemski (13 + 8 rebounds), Jackson-Davis (10), Payton II (6), Richard (5).
dallas: Flagg (27), Marshall (14), Washington (14 + 10 rebounds), Nembhard (4), Davis (3) – starter; Williams (26), Christie (13), Thompson (7), Gafford (6), Caleb Martin (2).
Lakers-Houston-96:119 (25:37, 28:26, 21:29, 22:27)
Lakers: Doncic (25 + 7 assists + 6 turnovers), James (18), Reeves (12), Ayton (10), Hachimura (0) – start; Vanderbilt (11), Smart (6), Larevia (5), James Jr. (3), Thiero (2), Knecht (2), Kleber (2).
Houston: Thompson (26 + 7 rebounds), Durant (25 + 9 assists), Smith (16 + 7 rebounds), Shengyun (14 + 12 rebounds + 6 turnovers), Eason (13) – start; Sheppard (13), Capela (6), Adams (4 + 9 rebounds), Tate (2), A. Holiday (0), Davison (0), Green (0), Okogie (0), Finney-Smith (0).
Denver – Minnesota – 142:138 (STARTING 32:29, 25:26, 35:23, 23:37, 27:23)
Denver: Jokic (56 + 16 rebounds + 15 assists + 5 turnovers), J. Murray (35 + 10 assists), Hardaway (19), Jones (12 + 9 rebounds), Watson (9) – start; B. Brown (7), Nnaji (2), Valanciunas (2), Strother (0).
Minnesota: Edwards (44 + 6 turnovers), Randle (32 + 7 rebounds + 6 assists), McDaniels (21), Gobert (9 + 12 rebounds + 6 blocks), DiVincenzo (6 + 7 rebounds + 8 assists) – start; Reed (13), Hyland (11), Clark (2), Juzeng (0), Conley (0), Shannon (0).
tournament tables
Western Conference
Eastern Conference
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
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