EAK celebrated their qualification to the Silver Category Grand Final last night after defeating the Blue Cats 66–55 and will now compete for their first trophy in the Winter Basketball Championship next week against First Shoot APOPAL.
Vori Karagiannis’ team delivered another strong performance, putting pressure on their opponents from the very beginning and quickly establishing themselves as the dominant side in the matchup. The Journalists held the lead throughout the game and, with only a few exceptions, managed to keep their advantage in double digits.
The visitors, on the other hand, fell short compared to their previous performances and were unable to meet the demands of the semifinal, ultimately suffering defeat and missing the opportunity to reach the Grand Final.
EAK’s +14 lead (35–21) at halftime was briefly threatened early in the second half, as the Blue Cats produced a 10–2 run to cut the deficit to six points (37–31) and momentarily raised hopes of a comeback. However, their rally did not last long, and the hosts quickly restored control, pushing the lead back to around 20 points.
The MVP of both the game and the winning team was Giorgos Neofytou, who delivered an outstanding all-around performance with 26 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and an efficiency rating of 48. His main support came from Alexandros Geromoschos and Ioannis Gianni, who scored 11 and 10 points respectively.
For the Blue Cats, Loukas Chatzigeorgiou led the scoring with 15 points, followed by Panos Tzinieris with 13 and Michalis Kellas with 10.
EAK will now prepare for the Grand Final next Wednesday (20:30, English School), while for the Blue Cats, last night’s game marked the end of their season. We thank them for their dignified presence and excellent cooperation and hope to see them back again next autumn.
