Basketball
Final Four, Greek Cup: Crete gives basketball opportunity for its own turbulence
The cup is an important title for both Olympiakos and Panathinaikos. But it’s even more important for Greek basketball to start its own riot here in Crete. Spyros Kavalieratos writes.
The truth is, big words don’t always work well. So without being able to know the result of the Final Four, it’s clear that something good is happening here in Heraklion. Both organizationally and competitively.
But on Sunday (February 20, 5 p.m., ERT3, Match Center at Sportish) everything will be counted. The winner gets everything and the loser will not be able to smile. It has to do with Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, who had very comfortable first three days of the tournament, but if they don’t win the final, the return journey will be bitter. No matter how much progress has been made in the mentality of the two eternals and in Greek basketball in general, victory is the difference between success and failure. There is one wedding in Heraklion, not four.
The same applies to the federal government. The atmosphere has been festive so far, from Thursday to Saturday everything went exactly as it should and the weather permits. We are still living in a time of pandemic, the stadium cannot be full, the slogans and the voices of the fans are clearly missing, but it is not possible to change everything in one day.
Steps have been taken, Heraklion has finally entered the basketball rhythm thanks to 3on3, in short it has become a very good start. Anyone who plays basketball in Greece knows that there is a lot of room for improvement, but let’s wait for when our life gets back to normal. At the moment it’s not about spoiling the scene on the last day, because the last impression always remains and Olympiakos – Panathinaikos obviously have the edge. This is the greatest sporting rivalry that Greece has.
So everything seems to be going well for now. The basketball “chaos” is afoot with a mediator between the EEC and Crete itself with its mentality, but as locals well know, a spark can burn it all and reopen the vendetta. As there are many in Greece who invest in hostilities and vendettas and will always do everything in their power to create tension.
Not that Panathinaikos OPAP and Olympiakos will stop being opponents, but there are limits to everything. It’s different to ask for victory, to celebrate the trophy, the title, dominance on the floor. It’s another thing to want to humiliate your opponent, stand back and kill them. Greek sport has been searching for those boundaries for years, and Greek basketball has its own chance to lead the way.
Finally, the good news comes from the mentality of team administrations, especially the eternal ones. Everyone is looking to the future, not looking back, and doesn’t want to miss the opportunity. Anyone who has a gun and wants to shoot the other knows that death will find them all in the end. That’s why the longing for victory and cup on Sunday afternoon in the 47th Greek Cup final is great, the title is very important for both Panathinaikos and Olympiakos, but above all the next day is important.
Only one will celebrate, only one will return with the beautiful trophy, but the most important thing is the basketball ruck. That is why Crete seems to be the right place at the right time.
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.
Head coach of “Kharkov Falcons” Valery Plekhanov He summarized the team’s 2025 results and talked about the preparations for the continuation of the season:
“Summing up the results of the calendar year, I want to congratulate all our fans on the upcoming New Year and Merry Christmas, wish our favorite team peace and good victories! “Kharkov Falcons” are the first players of this Super League season, so second place at the moment is a good result.
There are a few points we would like to emphasize separately. First of all, seven players from last season’s active squad won the Premier League together, but five of them never played in the Super League. Therefore, the experience they gained in the first half of this season is almost priceless. Secondly, Kharkiv Falcons are one of the two champion teams that did not play a single match at home. It’s very difficult when you’re not playing for your fans, you’re training in one gym, and you’re playing in a different gym every time, even on home tours. In these conditions, 4 defeats in 13 matches is a good result.
One of the most negative moments of this year was not being able to participate in the last four of the Ukrainian Cup. Unfortunately, we were a little unlucky in the draw. After an emotionally difficult and physically exhausting match with Krivbass, we did not have enough strength for the next match against Kiev-Basket in the quarter-finals. Unfortunately, our performances in the cup are over, but now we will be able to focus all our efforts on the championship.
Our main problem now is injuries. We have five injured players, three of whom have serious injuries that require a long recovery period. We’re about to get off to a very tough start to the new calendar season because the Falcons will be playing basketball six weekends in a row, which means six road trips with no rest time. If we could count on all twelve players in the squad at the beginning of the season, there will no longer be such a rotation. Therefore, all the responsibility and burden will fall on the players in the rankings. I hope they get over their injuries in the new year, recover from their injuries as soon as possible, return to work and help their beloved club properly represent Kharkiv in the Super League.
Despite the holidays, we have training scheduled almost seven days a week. “I really hope that by January 10 we will be a combat-ready team that can solve serious problems.”
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 December 23, as part of the 1/8 final of the Romanian Cup, the Ukrainian derby was played between Bucharest and Dinamo. Vyacheslav Bobrova and “Fast” Alexandra Lipovoy.
Dinamo won the match 89:79, and the fate of the ticket to the next round was decided in overtime, as Rapid won the first match – 83:73.
The home players acted more accurately in extra time and won with a total score of 101:85 and advanced to the quarter-finals.
Vyacheslav Bobrov made a double-double in 33 minutes on the field, scoring 10 points (4/7 two-pointers, 0/1 three-pointers, 2/2 free throws), collecting 10 rebounds, 1 block, 5 turnovers and 2 fouls.
Alexander Lipovoy played 38 minutes, scored 16 points (1/2 two-pointers, 4/7 three-pointers, 2/2 free throws), collected 3 rebounds, made 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls.
Romanian Cup. 1/8 final. 2nd match, 23 December
Dinamo Bucharest – Rapid Bucharest – 101:85 Overtime (17:22, 28:12, 24:19, 20:26, 12:6)
Match record:
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.
Basketball
Mikhailyuk repeated his personal best from the NBA regular season in the match against Memphis
Ukrainian basketball player who plays for Utah Jazz Svyatoslav Mikhayyuk He repeated his personal best in starts in the NBA regular season.
This happened 128:137 in the game between the Utah Jazz and the Memphis Grizzlies on the night of December 23-24.
In this match, Mikhailyuk stayed on the field for 22 minutes and during this time he recorded 9 points (4/4 free throws, 1/4 two-point, 1/5 three-pointers), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul.
This match was Mikhailyuk’s 27th match as a starter this season. So, at the end of December, Svyatoslav repeated his career record in terms of starts, missing only one game against Dallas.
Previously, Mikhailiuk managed to play as a starter in many matches only in the 2019/20 season as part of the Detroit Pistons.
The Jazz are in 12th place in the NBA Western Conference rankings with 10 wins in 29 games. Utah will play its next game against Detroit on Saturday, December 27 at 04:30 Kyiv time.
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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