In Brief
Ouzounidis out as Larissa hires new coach Yiannis Papacostas is the new manager of Larissa, according to an official statement by the club, following Marinos Ouzounidis’s sacking by Larissa president Costas Piladakis after the Thessaly team lost 2-0 at home to Panthrakikos on Sunday. Papacostas had started the year at Kavala but left during the fall due to disagreements with the owners. Larissa is dangerously close to the relegation zone. Xanthi, another struggler of late, has also parted ways with its coach, Yiannis Matzourakis and is still in search of a successor. The Romanian-born manager announced his decision to quit his post yesterday. At the weekend Xanthi lost 2-1 at Kavala for the league. European test for EA Patras in volleyball The volleyball team with the best form in Greece, EA Patras, is facing Noliko in Belgium tonight for the first leg of the quarterfinals of the CEV Cup, Europe’s second-tier competition. The Peloponnesian club comes from a further victory in the league last Friday with a 3-0 score over Aris, to stay one point behind leader Panathinaikos. The latter downed relegation-threatened Kifissia 3-0 away on Sunday. Olympiakos in third returned from Lamia with a 3-1 on Sunday while yesterday Iraklis beat cross-city rival Apollon 3-1 away. Aiming higher High jumper Antonis Mastoras has earned himself a ticket to the World Indoor Championship to be held next month in Doha, Qatar, with a jump of over 2.24 meters at a meeting in Paeania on Saturday. In the process, the 19-year-old athlete broke the national indoor under-20 record. Water polo The men’s national water polo team faces Russia tonight in Piraeus for its fourth match in the World League. Greece has two wins in three games, including the most recent one over Croatia following a penalty shootout.
