Panthers win thriller against Angels, powered by super Stella!

The Black Panthers claimed their third win of the season last night, defeating Dikefalos Geriou Angels away from home 42–49, after an incredible thriller of a game that required five minutes of overtime to produce a winner.

Louie Nicolaou’s team, featuring the supersonic weapon known as Stella Theodosiou, secured a hugely valuable victory that lifts them (temporarily) to 3rd place in the standings. The game’s MVP, Theodosiou, scored an astonishing 37 of her team’s 49 points, while also grabbing 13 rebounds, handing out 2 assists, recording 1 block and 6 steals, for a remarkable efficiency rating of 43!!

The game that opened the 7th round of the Women’s Championship was extremely thrilling and kept everyone on edge — the players on the court and benches alike, as well as the spectators who watched it.

For much of regulation time, the visitors held a small but steady lead, which they managed to maintain until the early stages of the fourth quarter. Alexandros Solomonidis’ team, however, refused to give in and launched a strong comeback that eventually paid off.

Around six minutes before the end, the Angels tied the score at 31–31, and from that point on everything was balanced on a knife’s edge. The Panthers regained a +4 lead (34–38) with one minute remaining, and it looked as though the win was secured. However, two consecutive baskets by Christodoulou and Tsolia brought the game back to a tie and sent it into overtime.

Despite playing with only six players and despite fatigue theoretically working against them, the Panthers found the reserves of energy they needed, took the lead again in overtime and eventually escaped with a huge road win. For the hosts, there was once again the bittersweet feeling of a great effort that was not rewarded with victory.

As already mentioned, Styliani Theodosiou was unquestionably the standout performer for the winners, followed by Ana Ines Quesada with 6 points. For the home team, Eirini Tsolia delivered another big performance with 19 points, with Zina Gartzolaki providing key support with 10.