In an increasingly tight Group G, Panionios crushed visiting BC Kalev 90-66 at Hellinikon Olympic Complex to join a tie for fourth place, just a victory behind the tri-leaders. Panionios and Kalev are both 3-3 now, while Asco Slask Wroclaw, Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas and Asvel Basket are crowded in first place at 4-2 each. Panionios used a blowout run of 22-4 streak that bridged the first two quarters to build a 39-19 lead and never looked back. Ivan Zoroski was in the zone coming off the bench for Panionios and finished with a team-hight 29 points, shooting 7 for 9 from inside and 3 for 5 beyond the three-point line. Brad Newley and Dusan Sakota added 16 points each for the winners, while Levon Kendall dominated inside with 8 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. Travis Reed paced Kalev with 23 points and 8 boards, while Rait Keerles finished with 11 points. Kalev suffered from 25 turnovers, but that was only 5 more than the winners from Panionios.
 The visitors started the game determined to dictate the rhythm behind based on baskets by Marlon Parmer, Gregor Arbet and Reed. However, Kalev's last lead came at 7-10, after which 5 straight points by Brad Newley gave Panionios its first lead, 12-10. Sakota bore offensive responsibility for the hosts now to make it 17-11. Kalev trim it to 17-15 thanks to Reed and Arbet, but Panionios immediately found the answers with bench players Giannis Georgalis and Zoroski to close the first quarter with a double-digit difference, 25-15. Turnovers by the guests allowed the hosts to increase the margin to 39-19 halfway through the second period. Setting up its offense and poor defense were the big problems for Kalev during that time. Parmer and Kristjan Kangur connected for Kalev, but nothing changed much as Georgalis and Zoroski saved the quarter’s last word again for a 52-32 Panionios advantage by halftime. If any comeback thoughts were entertained, Sakota silenced them by opening fire from behind the arc to start the third period. Another triple later on by Zoroski sent the margin to its highest point at 62-39. A small 5-11 run by Kalev prevented Panionios from running more than a 67-50 difference after 30 minutes. The guests tried to come even closer at 67-52 and 69-54, but soon Panionios rebuilt its 20-point advantage at 77-56 thanks to Kendall’s dominance in the paint to easily sail to the final 90-66 margin.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Stelios Kyriakoglou, Athens
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