2nd league team without any foreigner destroyed PAOK in the Greek Cup
This could happen only in Greece. Where else in the whole world a 2nd league team can eliminate a 1st league team in these circumstances? Because AS Diagoras is a team formed by Greek veterans, but not Diamantidis or Spanoulis type, only 2nd league players with an age average of 32.8 years old. Three players of Diagoras already 38 years old, two of them – 36, other 2 – 35 and so on. So, not only a team with an aged group of fellows but as well without any foreigner in the roster.
On the other side, we have the Basketball Champions League participant, PAOK, who is far from its former glory but they have 6 foreigners in the roster and as well some Greek player with experience on the European level like Evangelos Margaritis, Zizis Zarikopoulos etc.
A couple of days ago, PAOK has changed the head coach and they looked like they started to play better, fighting till the end in France with the unbeaten Dijon in BasketballCL. But now, in the Greek cup, they have shown once again their fundamental lack of quality. What happened in this game is beyond imagination: at the halftime, Diagoras was leading already with 10 points, keeping PAOK at only 27 points scored in the first part of the game. In the end, Diagoras hammered PAOK with an incredible and embarrassing 81-66, eliminating them from the Cup.
As I predicted since September, it will be a disastrous year for PAOK who is losing almost all the game in all the competitions. In BasketballCL they haven’t seen the taste of victory after 4 rounds and in the Greek league, they are at 2-4 till now.
AS Diagoras, in spite of playing in the 2nd league of Greece is not at their first surprising result this year in the Cup: they eliminated already during the qualifiers rounds other 2 weak teams from the first league: Larisa and Panionios. They have reached now the quarterfinals of the Greek Cup, which is amazing.
Photo: www.championsleague.basketball
Gratian Cormos
