Comfortable Qualifications for ESOBGA, Blue Cats, and First Shoot

The teams of ESOBGA, Blue Cats, and First Shoot APOPAL secured their qualification to the next round of the Cup yesterday. They prevailed over the Nicosia Bar Association, ENAATH, and Splash Ballers respectively, earning their tickets to the tournament’s “Round of 16.”

ESOBGA was the first to reach victory last night, defeating the Nicosia Bar Association in Agios Dometios with a score of 52-67. Christos Kyriakides’ team faced strong resistance from the “Lawyers” in the first half, during which the two teams were neck-and-neck for most of the duration.

In the second half, however, the visitors stepped up their performance. Led by Diamantis (18 pts) and Makris (16 pts), they built a safety margin that they maintained until the end. For Nikolas Konstantinou’s team, Tsakonas and Theodorou stood out with 16 and 12 points respectively.

The Blue Cats secured a comfortable away win in Limassol, defeating Art Eat ENAATH 39-59, despite playing with only 7 players (including their President, Angelos Pelagia!). The Agios Dometios team took control of the game from the early stages, never allowing the Limassol side to close the gap or become threatening.

The three standout players for the Blue Cats at the Linopetra court, all scoring in double digits, were Charalambides, Kellas, and Achilleos with 18, 15, and 10 points respectively. For ENAATH, Makis Pipyros was the top scorer with 14 points, followed by Avgeropoulos with 9.

Predictions were also confirmed at Pallouriotissa, where the Graduates (First Shoot APOPAL) comfortably beat the Splash Ballers 61-42, with the lead reaching as high as +32 at one point. The Pitzioilis-Panagiotou team appeared unaffected by the Christmas break, fielding a full roster and completely dominating the Splash Ballers, who played with only 5 players.

Andreas Photiou stood out once again for the hosts, scoring 21 points in just 20 minutes of play, with primary support from Pelekanos, Konstantinidis, and Minnosih, who scored 9, 8, and 8 points respectively. For the visitors, Andreas Iacovou stood out with 22 points, followed by Adonis Michael with 8.

The Next Phase

The qualifying teams now know their opponents for the next round. ESOBGA will host UNIC Senior Eagles, the Blue Cats will return to Limassol to face the Red Panda Moufflons, while First Shoot will host the winner of the upcoming match between St. Nicholas Pistols vs Basket Bros.