Panelefsiniakos celebrates unlikely survival
Peristeri and Ilisiakos will fight it out for a spot in next season’s A1 basketball division, while Kavala has already got relegated after the penultimate round of games concluded on Tuesday.
Kavala’s 80-79 loss at Aris condemned Enosis to the drop, but has also meant that Panelefsiniakos has managed to stay up in its first ever season in the top flight. The club based at Elefsina, in the western outskirts of Athens, defeated Ikaros Kallitheas 78-65 and celebrated through the night this success that by Christmas had appeared unlikely.
Ilisiakos thought it had also clinched survival when it led visiting KAO Dramas at Zografou, but its complacency was punished by the Macedonians who won 76-74 forcing Ilisiakos coach Giorgos Zevgolis to resign.
In the last round of games Ilisiakos visits Peristeri, which lost 101-76 at AGO Rethymnou. If Peristeri wins the game to be played behind closed doors by more than two points it will stay up and send Ilisiakos down. That is unless Ilisiakos creates the upset of the season and beats Olympiakos in the game it has in hand.
In other games Apollon Patras came from behind to beat PAOK 87-83 in overtime, Panathinaikos saw off Kolossos Rhodes 93-77 and Olympiakos edged out host Panionios 66-57.
