The teams Old Bulldogs and St. Nicholas Pistols celebrated their qualification to the next phase of the Cup last night, defeating Nicosia Municipality and Basket Bros respectively, securing their tickets to the tournament’s “Round of 16.”
In the first game chronologically, the Old Bulldogs had to overcome significant hurdles to break the resistance of Nicosia Municipality, whom they eventually defeated 50-53. The match at Engomi High School started ideally for Haris Papakyriakou’s team, which led by as much as +15 (22-37) early in the 2nd period, looking set for a comfortable away win.
However, the hosts quickly woke up, went on an incredible 21-3 run, and by the end of the half, they were ahead 43-40. In the second half, the game turned into a derby, with the two teams moving neck-and-neck and neither escaping by a lead of more than 4 points.
Showing more composure in the final minutes, the visitors managed to secure the significant away win with 50-53 and, along with it, the qualification to the Round of 16. Konstantinos Karamontanis stood out for the winners with 15 points, while Marios Menoikou played a great game for the hosts, scoring 21.
In the other match of the night, held in Limassol, St. Nicholas Pistols had an easier task against Basket Bros, winning emphatically with a score of 79-45. They became the first Limassol team to qualify for the next phase through a match (pending tonight’s game for Arthouros).
Giorgos Angonas’ team, with the exception of an initial feeling-out period in the first quarter, was better throughout the encounter. They took advantage of both the home-court factor and the fact that the visitors were playing with only 6 players, reaching a comfortable victory-qualification. The top performer for the winners was Lefteris Triantafyllou with 19 points, followed by Andrei Shirkin with 13. For the visitors, Bakopoulos and Charalambous stood out with 15 and 13 points respectively.
Next Phase:
In the next round, the Old Bulldogs will face P&P, while St. Nicholas Pistols will travel to Nicosia to face First Shoot APOPAL.
