St. Nicholas Pistols delivered as expected last night, defeating Apollon Heat 65–53 in the first Semi-Final of the Limassol Championship, securing their place in the Grand Final on April 20.
Giorgos Angonas’ team fully deserved the win and qualification, as they built a strong lead early on and managed to maintain it throughout the game, never allowing the visitors to realistically challenge for a comeback.
The halftime score already stood at 40–20, while early in the second half the lead stretched to +24 for the home side, who dominated in all aspects of the game. Apollon Heat simply took advantage of some complacency from the hosts towards the end to reduce the deficit slightly, with the final score settling at 65–53.
Among the standout performers for the winners—who impressively had 11 out of their 12 players on the scoresheet—were Minas Mavromoustakos, Nikolas Damianou, and Iosif Bitsimis with 13, 11, and 10 points respectively. For the visitors, Yurii Dobrov, Maksym Nekhai, and Aleksandr Kazachanskii stood out with 14, 11, and 11 points.
The Pistols, who return to the Limassol Championship Grand Final after two years, will learn their opponent following the second Semi-Final between Trachoni and Red Panda Moufflons. Both the Grand Final and the Third-Place Game will take place on Monday, April 20, at Linopetra Lyceum.
