St. Nicholas Pistols were crowned champions of the 3rd Limassol Winter Championship last night after a thrilling Grand Final, defeating Trachoni 61–65 and winning the Limassol title for the second time in their history.
Giorgos Angonas’ team claimed the championship thanks to the composure they showed in the crucial closing moments of the game. They avoided unforced errors at key stages, withstood the pressure applied by Trachoni—especially in the second half—and ultimately celebrated a great victory and the title.
As expected, last night’s clash at Linopetra Lyceum developed into a true derby, with the outcome decided literally in the final seconds. In the first half, the Pistols held a slight advantage and led 22–33 at the break.
However, in the second half, Trachoni’s full-court press proved effective, with Christodoulos Sofokleous’ side gradually cutting the deficit and eventually taking their first narrow one-point lead midway through the final quarter.
Half a minute before the end, Chryssis Konstantinidis reduced the margin to a single point at 61–62. A crucial basket by Iosif Bitsimis immediately afterwards, a missed three-pointer by Sparivak on the other end, and one free throw by Arnidis sealed the final score of 61–65, giving St. Nicholas Pistols the win and the title.
For the winners, Lefteris Triantafyllou, Nikolas Damianou and Kyriakos Arnidis stood out with 15, 13 and 12 points respectively. For Trachoni, Giannis Chatzimitsos and Anatoly Kranopolski carried the main load with 17 points each, followed by Alexei Sparivak with 12.
Warm congratulations are due both to the champions and to the runners-up, Trachoni, who made a tremendous effort in the Final, competed with their top scorer (Kranopolski) injured, and lost the game by the finest of margins.
Find the full high-resolution photo album of the match on Flickr by clicking the photo below.
