The 8th round of the Limassol Championship was completed with victories for Trachoni and Arthouros, and with two rounds remaining before the end of the Regular Season, the top two places in the standings—which lead directly to the Semifinals—have now been mathematically secured.
Undefeated Trachoni will finish in first place, leading the standings with 16 points, while St. Nicholas Pistols will claim second place with 14 points, regardless of the outcomes of their final two games. It is worth noting that these two teams, along with the Moufflons, are the only sides from the Limassol Championship still competing in the Cup, where they face tough matchups next week.
As for the privileged 3rd and 4th positions, which grant home-court advantage in the playoffs, these will be taken by Apollon Heat and Arthouros, with Heat holding the tiebreaker advantage in case of a tie. Red Panda Moufflons will finish in 5th place, while Art Eat ENAATH will end up 6th, regardless of the results of the final two rounds.
Based on all the above, it is now clear that the only positions not yet definitively decided are 3rd and 4th, giving Heat and Arthouros the opportunity to choose their opponents both for the playoffs and the Semifinals.
For the remaining teams, the final two rounds present an excellent opportunity for coaches to experiment with lineups and possibly give more playing time to players who have seen limited action so far—without, of course, overlooking the prestige of victory as a strong motivating factor.
In last night’s games, Trachoni, with Giannis Chatzimitsos on the bench (due to the absence of Christos Sofokleous), recorded a comfortable 92–57 win over Apollon Heat, while Arthouros earned a much tougher 78–72 victory against the Moufflons. With this win, Trachoni secured its 8th consecutive victory, while Arthouros recorded its 4th win of the season.
Next week, Trachoni will be in Cup action, hosting PN99, while Arthouros will have a bye, having been eliminated earlier by EAK.
