The “double-headed” derby… turned black and white, courtesy of Brin Tayri!
On Saturday night (10/24), PAOK celebrated a major victory over AEK with a score of 65-62 at a packed Palataki Arena in the fourth round of the Stoiximan GBL, with the Thessaloniki team maintaining their perfect record and staying at the top of the league.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The game lacked any real flow in the first half, which ended with the score at 25–29, with the “Double-Headed Eagle of the North” failing to score a single field goal in the second quarter. Both teams were noticeably better in the second half, where AEK fought until the very end; however, PAOK, led by the incredible Tairi, sealed the victory.
The 28-year-old American guard hit big, clutch baskets down the stretch, finishing the game with 28 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist! Alexander was pivotal with 7 points and 11 rebounds, while Cenci Osman finished with 9 points and 5 rebounds on 2-for-8 shooting.
For “Enosis,” which fell to a 2-2 record, Joseph (16 pts., 8 rebounds) and Brown (13 pts., 5 reb.), while Bartley finished the game with 12 points, 7 assists, but also 5-for-12 from the field. Seconds before the final buzzer, Katsivelis limped off the court after slipping on the floor.
Highlights of the game
The Game
The start of the game was fairly even, with AEK opening with a 5-0 run led by Nole and Bartley, and PAOK responding with baskets from Tairi and Gray to tie the score at 5-5 at the 2-minute mark. With two baskets by Joseph and free throws by Osman, the score became 7-9 two minutes later, with Bazina’s three-pointer at the end of the “Northern Double-Headed Eagle’s” possession giving the home team its first lead (10-9). “Enosis” struggled to find the opponent’s basket, taking 3 minutes to score, while Tairi dominated on the other end, quickly racking up 10 personal points to put PAOK up 17-11 in the 6th minute.
At that point, the “yellow-and-blacks” stepped up their defense, forcing PAOK into poor decisions and turnovers, just as Joseph scored from the free-throw line to cut the lead to 17-15 in the 8th minute. In the final stretch of the period, both teams were quite off-target, with Hugaz being the only one to find the basket, making it 20-15 at the end of the first quarter.
The start of the second quarter was very tense and… frustratingly inaccurate, with both teams missing one shot after another. Brown finally broke the deadlock after 2.5 minutes (20–17), with Lekavicius and Brown adding five more points to take the lead, making it 20–22 in the 14th minute. During this stretch, both the visitors’ defense and the very poor offensive choices by Andrea Trinchieri’s entire team kept PAOK scoreless, with Osman stopping the “bleeding” at 5:17 before halftime with 2-for-2 free throws (22-22).
The pattern of the game did not change in the second half of the quarter, as “Enosis’s” “steel-hard” defense “shutting down” all of PAOK’s offensive threats, as PAOK finished the period without a single field goal, going 0-for-14 from the field. At the same time, AEK wasn’t playing well on offense either, however, thanks to some nice plays by Bartley and 7 points from the American guard, they headed into the locker room with a 29-25 lead, with the Thessaloniki team scoring on 5 of 6 free throws.
With a drive by Forrest on the first possession of the third quarter, PAOK scored its first basket after 12:50 of playing time! With Alexander adding two more points and Gray scoring a three-pointer from the top of the key, the Thessaloniki team took the lead at 32-31, with Bazina also scoring from beyond the 6.75-meter line to make it 35-33 in the 24th minute. Around that time, the combination play between Foster and Alexander and the latter’s impressive baskets, along with Osman’s first two-point shot of the game, gave the home team a +6 lead (41–35) in the 26th minute.
In fact, despite two-pointers by Williams and Brown, the home team—led by Tyree and Gray—maintained a +6 lead (45-39) two minutes later, before Lekavicius gave “Enosis” some much-needed breathing room and, with five points, cut the deficit to 47-44 at the end of the quarter.
With a follow-up shot by Joseph, Dragan Sakota’s team cut the deficit to a minimum of (47-46) at the start of the fourth and final quarter, with Tyre responding with five quick personal points to make it 52-46. PAOK’s strong defense, as well as its play in transition, allowed them to score easy points with Osman and Bazina and extend the lead to +11 for the first time, making it 57-46 in the 34th minute.
At that point, AEK fought back, setting up two defensive stops and scoring four consecutive points with two incredible and extremely powerful dunks by Brown to make it 57-50 at the 35-minute mark. A minute later, the American forward hit a three-pointer from the corner to narrow the gap even further (57–53), with Tyree stepping up for Trinchieri’s team and scoring five points to break PAOK’s offensive stalemate, making it 62-53 at the 37-minute mark. AEK didn’t give up, and with big three-pointers from Katsivelis and Bartley, they cut the lead to 3 (62-59), with Tairi again hitting a difficult mid-range shot to make it 64-59 with 43 seconds remaining. AEK was unable to get back into the game, and so PAOK secured a big 65-62 victory.
Quarter scores: 20-15, 25-29, 47-44, 65-62
*photo source: KYPE
