Shock win for Apollon as Cyprus basketball playoffs get underway

LAST weekend marked the beginning of the first division playoffs with a shock win for Pizza Express Apollon over Keravnos Cyprus College in Nicosia, and less surprising wins for Hassapis Omonoia and Dentalcon APOEL.

Last year’s finalist, Pizza Express Apollon, staged an unbelievable comeback in the fourth quarter of the first round match played in Strovolos.

After trailing by 12 points at 72-60 with less than three minutes remaining on the clock they stormed in with a 15-2 run to overcome the hosts and cancel their home court advantage, winning it 75-74.

Earnest Shelton led the Limassol side with 36 points, while Bernard King scored 16 for Keravnos Cyprus College. The second game of the series will be played in Limassol this evening.

Prior to the beginning of the playoffs Hassapis Omonoia lost their best player and arguably the best player in the league in American center Jonathan Jones who signed for the Lebanese side Blue Stars. However, they reacted quickly, signing Nigerian power forward Ejike Ugboaja who was the 55th pick of the 2006 NBA Draft, drafted by Cleveland Cavaliers.

Ugboaja scored only six points on his debut but his team faced few difficulties in defeating Frederick Achilleas Kaimakliou 64-59. The second game of this series is also scheduled for tonight.

Finally, Dentalcon APOEL crushed YDRA Asphalistiki ENAD 95-51 to take the lead in the series.

The Ayios Domethios side played this match without international players as their board, obviously pleased with the fact that they succeeded avoiding relegation, released both American and Bosman players.

Balsa Radunovic netted 18 points for the hosts, while the new signing American Ryan Humphrey chipped in with 16. Marios Argyrou had a game-high 23 points for the visitors.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.