Basketball
Someone will clean it up…
Pantelis Diamantopoulos goes through … a sieve of the two semifinals in Crete and comes to the conclusion that this event is already considered successful and beautiful, because Prometheus and AEK simply appeared and gave their souls.
It is not an American discovery that the “eternals” will be in another cup final. After a few years, of course, after Olympiacos said ‘hello’ in the domestic competitions.
Years passed, Piraeus returned and in their first season in everything they find Panathinaikos again in a match with a trophy in the middle of the field opposite Secretariat. Really, how well did the two get to the semifinals? Not at all. Expected; Why not…
In the finale, both Prometheus and AEK didn’t fly to beautiful Heraklion to represent the simple accomplices. The people of Patras have put the “Greens” in a very difficult position and the Union has long been trying to … put the “Red-Whites” to sleep.
Now you will be wondering which finale we will see? God knows… If Final Four rules apply, we’ll see a closed game. If both players are in a good mood, we can enjoy basketball. chances are that? No more than the first version. What can I do for you? lying to you…
But I don’t want to dwell on assumptions and conjectures. Let’s talk about what we have seen in Crete so far and this extraordinary event which I would like to believe will only get better in the future with the appetite of the EEC and the (necessary) help of the unions.
Priftis expects you differently …
Dimitris Priftis is of course entitled to call for different situations in the endgame than he saw against Prometheus. But at this point I have to clarify something. In a Final Four, no two games are the same. Yes, we can now speak of an “eternal” derby, but the pressure is also different in a semi-final. Especially when you’re a favourite, like the Greens were.
Panathinaikos looked poor in the first ten minutes. With failure, with statics, with confusion even in seemingly easy things. At the same time, of course, those close to Prometheus were raging and it was certain they couldn’t do that for 40 minutes. Evans gave his team the help they needed. The short character with him in “5” and white in “4” turned out to be flexible and beneficial.
Nedovic made up the difference, they made up for the situation. Panathinaikos vs Olympiakos, 100% will try not to be so far behind in score (the “red-whites” are not Prometheus), but logically there will be other situations, from some things we saw in the semi-finals. Are you saying we should see the SEF belt again? It can. Maybe not.
So far, the “Eternals” have played twice. They won at each other’s headquarters for various events. Panathinaikos had some units that are not on the list now. But there’s Jovic, who will try to bring calm and confidence against a defense that likes to press the ball…
The… extra pinball machines
I completely understand that the “red-whites” on Swan Thursday are waiting for how and how to enjoy basketball. Playing with Milan who will attend the SEF to win. Armani will try to show his virtues and not play with the times like AEK. But what can you do? Bartzokas’ players had to behave well to qualify for the final. They were mesmerized, didn’t shoot at the beginning, “opened” the field too late, and generally got into a process they didn’t like.
The difference in capacity and quality took them from one point to the next. Even though they’ve been provoking themselves with nonsense, especially lately, they couldn’t take any chances. The only thing they won was… extra points from their coach and an irritation on their bench. Everything will be different against Panathinaikos. AEK didn’t have variety in the threat, it couldn’t do much (and it really did finish the way it went), the “Greens” on the other hand have peripheries that shoot, they have big ones that resist and everything becomes different.
Bartzokas rotation will be different for the team to meet the demands of the finals. And of course that applies to both teams, a game like this requires skill and luck as well as a lot of mental reserves.
Applause for Zouros!
Prometheus should get a big round of applause. The people of Patras appeared in Dyo Aorakia in absentia, but they took care to show that they would sell their tomar at a high price. They had a terrible first ten minutes against the favorites of the game. They did a lot of things right and Zouros’ coaching was excellent. With fewer solutions, with a rotation that he knew before he even left Patras was going to cause him problems from a point.
Prometheus went as far as he could. His periphery “broke out” in the second half and that was the first problem. Okay, they didn’t have a team from the record against them. Panathinaikos wouldn’t score for 40 minutes like in the first 10. Those aren’t done.
The Patras team just tried and as time went on in the second half they slowly let the air out. Like the tires of a fast car, they lost air… and while initially plowing the track, they ended up as a “pie” and only reached the finish line and received the applause…
It wasn’t temporary
AEK came to Crete with most of the problems. She struggled for herself in a pumpkin stadium, but under more than difficult conditions. She suffered from an opponent who, no matter how mesmerized she was, could not threaten or intimidate him.
Hamer has shown he can perform at a higher level, while his team-mates can rightly say they followed a plan and made the most of their effort. The union was not temporary and that is a sign. He took advantage of the Olympiacos shot in the last third and went all the way to… the semifinals, until Wookup (!) scored a three and put out the… lighter.
The Final Four was made beautiful by the two underdogs. The two favorites need to play the basketball they know. The holder will clean it up, the one who loses will then carry his whole picture. That’s how it works…
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.
Three matches were played as part of the 18th round of the Euroleague on December 26.
Partizan hosted Maccabi Tel Aviv and suffered a heavy defeat.
The home team, which started the match better, was separated from the opponent by 11 points (28:17) in the first quarter, and at the end of the first 10 minutes, they missed the 3:13 attack and reduced the difference with the opponent team to 1 point (31:30). In the second quarter, Maccabi seized the initiative and after a 14:0 move, they fell behind by 15 points, 56:41. This part of the game was decisive, since then the away team increased their advantage and achieved +33 points – 92:58 at the end of the third quarter, after which they relaxed a little and allowed the opponent to reduce the gap to the last 25 points – 87:112.
This was Maccabi’s fifth consecutive win in the Euroleague, which moved them up to 14th in the standings.
While the most productive player of the match was Walker, who scored 20 points, overall five of Maccabi’s players scored 10+ points.
Monaco had a tough home win against Real Madrid.
The Monegasques were ahead almost the entire game against Los Blancos, but they could not gain a comfortable distance. At the beginning of the third quarter, the home team had a 14-point lead, but then they missed a move at 4:14 and allowed their opponent to return to the game, and at the end of 10 minutes, Real equalized the score: 70:70. The decisive factor in the fourth quarter was Monaco’s 12:0 breakthrough towards the middle of the 10-minute period, which gave them a 12-point advantage: 87:75. After this, although the guest team reduced the gap, they did not fully return to the game. As a result, Monaco won with a score of 100:95.
Real Madrid’s Ukrainian headquarters Alexey Len He spent 6 minutes on the field and made 1 incorrect two-point shot and 1 foul during this time.
The two visiting players immediately recorded double-doubles. Tavares had 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Campazzo had 28 points and 10 assists. Okobo scored 22 points for the winners, but Monaco showed more team play; 6 home players scored 10+ points.
Virtus Bologna hosted Olympiacos and almost staged a surprising comeback in the fourth quarter.
The home team won the first quarter with a score of 25:23, but then the game went sideways and at the big break the Greeks had a 9-point advantage – 50:41, and before the last minute of the third quarter the away team was ahead +20 – 77:57. The fate of the match seemed certain, but then Virtus got back into the game with a move at 18:3. There was an even game further down the field, where the home team tried to equalize the score, but Fournier’s three-pointer with a score of 92:93 and successful free throws helped the Greeks preserve the victory, but Virtus made a three-point shot for equal score at the last second through Alston’s efforts.
Dorsey scored 23 points and Fournier scored 21 points for Olympiacos.
Europa League. Regular season. 18th round, 26 December
Partizan – Maccabi Tel Aviv – 87:112 (31:30, 12:28, 16:34, 28:20)
Partisan: Payne (15 points + 3 rebounds + 6 assists), Brown (12+2+4), Bonga (10+4+1), Jones (10+6+2), Marinkovich (9+2+1), Washington (8+1 assists), Osetkovski (8+1+3), Fernando (6+4+1), Lakic (6+1+1), Calathes (3+2+2).
maccabi: Walker (20+2+5), Sorkin (17+6+3), Leaf (14+6+1), Brissett (11+3 rebounds), Santos (10+2+2), Gord (9+4+2), Ryman (8+4 rebounds), Clark (7+3+6), Blatt (6+4+7), DiBartolomeo (5+3+1), Lundberg (3+2+2), Levy (2+1 selection).
Monaco – Reality – 100:95 (21:20, 26:23, 23:27, 30:25)
Monaco: Okobo (22+2+2), James (15+4+5), Nedovich (12+3 rebounds), Strazel (12+4 rebounds), Diallo (11+7+2), Mirotic (10+1+2), Theis (8+7+1), Blossomgame (6+4 rebounds), Hayes (4+7+1).
Real: Campazzo (28+5+10), Tavares (21+11 rebounds), Okeke (12+2 rebounds), Dec (9+4+2), Abalde (7+2 assists), Hezonja (6+5+2), Maledon (5+1+2), Procida (3), Garuba (2+2 rebounds), Kramer (2+1 rebounds).
Virtus Bologna – Olympiacos – 94:97 (25:23, 16:27, 19:27, 34:20)
virtus: Wildosa (17+2+4), Morgan (15+5 assists), Edwards (14+1+2), Diouf (12+4+1), Smailagic (9), Alston (8+2 rebounds), Niang (7+4+1), Hackett (6+3+4), Payola (4+1+4), Akele (2+1 rebounds).
OlympiacosDorsey (23+4+3), Fournier (21+1 rebounds), Vezenkov (16+5 rebounds), Milutinov (13+9+5), Peters (13+6+1), Papanikolaou (5+4+2), Walkup (2+2 assists), Ntilikina (2+1+2), Hall (2+2 assists), Morris (3 rebounds + 2 assists).
tournament table
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.
Croatian “Zadar” reported on its official website the transfer of a basketball player from the Ukrainian national team Ivan Tkachenko.
After a short trial period during which the Ukrainian player met the requirements of the coaching staff, a contract was signed with him at the end of the season.
The club has already announced that Tkachenko will participate in the Adriatic League and the Croatian Championship, so the Ukrainian can make his debut for the new team in the local championship match against Kvarner on December 27.
Tkachenko did not sign a contract with any club at the beginning of the 2025/26 season and played in only two official matches after the start of the season – as part of the Ukrainian national team, against Georgia and Denmark in November as part of the 2027 World Cup qualifiers.
Last season Ivan played for Mitteldeutscher, where he won the German Cup. The forward, who played in 32 matches in the 2024/25 Bundesliga, averaged 4.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 17.3 minutes.
During his club career, Tkachenko played for Ukrainians Cherkasy Mavpy and Prometheus, as well as Finland’s Helsinki Seagals.
Zadar is in sixth place in the Adriatic League Group B with 4 wins in 10 matches, and is in second place in the Croatian Championship with a score of 10-1.
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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.
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.
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