ESOBGA literally stole the win from the jaws of PN99 last night in the super-derby of the 4th matchday. A dagger three-pointer by Charis Sissos seconds before the end reversed the score in their favor and secured a huge win with a score of 71-70, which most likely guarantees them the top spot at the end of the Championship’s First Phase.
Last night’s thriller at the English School indoor arena was a promotional game for amateur basketball, lasting almost two hours (without overtime), between two of the top teams in our Championship, who literally gave their all to claim the victory.
Christos Kyriakidis’ team, although trailing for most of the game (they were even down by 16 points just before the end of the 3rd period), did not give up. They capitalized on the fact that PN99’s main players were burdened with 4 fouls early (Konnafis, Georgiades, Hatzivasileiou) and managed to slowly but steadily chip away at the deficit.
All the excitement of the game was in the final period, specifically in the last 30 seconds. PN99 was leading 68-69 and earned a foul. At the free-throw line, Petros Konnafis made 1/2, giving his team a one-basket lead (68-70) with only 10 seconds left for ESOBGA.
On the last possession for the technically “home” team, Charis Sissos, with only 8 seconds left for his team, took the ball from the inbounds, made a small step-fake on Yiannakis Prokopiou who was guarding him, found himself open for a second, fired a three-pointer from the 45-degree angle, and with the help of the backboard, hit the super three that gave ESOBGA the big win.
This defeat was PN99‘s first after 29 consecutive games in the Championship and Cup, during which they remained undefeated. Essentially, this loss does not change much for the Konnafis-Georgiades team, nor does it derail them from their goals, as their participation in the Gold Category should be considered a given anyway. On the other hand, ESOBGA, with yesterday’s victory, enjoys the solitary lead, having won both big derbies in the “Kyrenia” Region, a fact that gives them greater comfort for the remaining 5 games of the First Phase.
Warm congratulations are deserved for both teams for the sportsmanlike game they offered us, despite its intensity and critical nature, and for keeping the interest of everyone who watched it high until the very last second. In the next matchday, ESOBGA will go to Pallouriotissa to face First Shoot APOPAL, while PN99 will go to Yeri to compete against KEP-Dikefalos.
