Maroussi BC advanced to the Euroleague second qualifying round by downing Aris BSA 2003 89-60 in Game 2 of their two-way series in Athens, Greece on Friday. Maroussi overcame its 2-point deficit from Game 1 to win the series. It will face either Alba Berlin or Le Mans in another two-way series for a spot in the 2009-10 Euroleague regular season. Meanwhile, Aris will compete in the 2009-10 Eurocup. Billy Keys and Michalis Pelekanos paced the winners each with 18 points apiece. Keys also pulled down 8 boards and Pelekanos collected 6 steals. Kostas Kaimakoglou added 17 points and Jamon Gordon had 12 for Maroussi. Keydren Clark and Nikos Hatzivrettas each had 15 points for Aris and Nikos Barlos added 10. Pelekanos had 8 points in a 14-0 opening run that allowed Maroussi to take the series lead for good. Gordon and Jared Homan helped Maroussi to boost its margin to 27-9 after 10 minutes. Maroussi simply excelled on offense with outstanding ball circulation and Georgios Diamantopoulos - who left the game later on with a neck injury - made it a 22-point game near halftime. Demos Dikoudis and Clark tried to change things after the break, but they only managed to bring Aris within 66-49 after 30 minutes. Maroussi opened the fourth quarter with a 14-0 run highlighted by a pair of Pelekanos fastbreak dunk as the hosts to sealed an important win in style.

Maroussi started the game at full speed, and Aris didn’t have the energy to keep up. Pelekanos sank two three-pointers and Gordon scored also from behind the arc to give the hosts an early 14-0 lead. Nikos Hatzivrettas made the first basket for the visitors after six scoreless minutes, but the scenario didn’t change at all. Despite head coach Andrea Mazzon switching defenses from man-to-man to a match-up zone, Maroussi scored easily and closed the first period with an impressive 27-9 lead. At the beginning of the second quarter, Aris tried to return to the game and with a 0-8 spurt to get to 30-17, but the hosts quickly found their rhythm and dominated at both ends. Clark scored his first basket for Aris to get to 35-19, but Maroussi went to a zone defense, which caused major problems for Aris. Giorgos Diamantopoulos dished a few very spectacular assists, Kaimakoglou scored with ease and Maroussi dominated the boards as it soared to a 43-21 lead. Clark hit a three pointer at the buzzer to cut the halftime margin to 45-27.

The third quarter begun with another three pointer by Keys and Gordon sank another big soon after. Aris put some pressure on with a 0-6 spurt to get within 57-41, but Maroussi was well prepared and didn’t lose the control of the match. At the end of the third period the hosts were ahead 66-49 and then sealed the outcome by starting the fourth quarter with 14 unanswered points to claim a 31 points lead. The lead peaked at 87-55 as Maroussi cruised to a big win and a spot in the second qualification round.