Eurocup. Maroussi — BC Khimki — 71-5827 january 2009

Maroussi Costa Coffee controlled the tempo to sail to a 71-58 victory over BC Khimki in Athens and start the Last 16 in style. Carlos Delfino scored 10 points, whereas Teemu Rannikko and Kelly McCarty also reached double digits with 12 and 10 points, respectively, for Khimki in a losing effort.

Maroussi got off to a 7-2 start by punishing Khimki both from inside and outside with Loukas Mavrokefalidis, Dimitris Mavroeidis and Keys. Timofey Mozgov connected for 6 straight points to bring the guests within 11-8 and Jorge Garbajosa trimmed it to 13-12 before the first quarter ended 15-12 in favor of the hosts. Maroussi continued to control the tempo without managing to build a good difference, though. Delfino made it 17-16 from the free-throw line, before Glyniadakis dominated the paint for 4 consecutive points to bring it to 21-16 for Maroussi. Stevenson nailed a three-pointer, but Delfino answered back in the same way, before the teams went to the lockers for halftime at 28-25.

Stevenson opened fire after the break to nail back-to-back triples for Maroussi. When Glyniadakis connected, too, the hosts had built a 36-25 margin, leaving Khimki without points for four minutes. With points from Garbajosa, the guests cut it to 39-32, but it remained obvious that the hosts were still in charge. Keys netted a three-pointer for a 49-37 Maroussi lead, the biggest yet, and the score stood at 49-39 after 30 minutes. But, Khimki was not ready to surrender; Teemu Rannikko and Delfino combined for 8 points to make it 51-47. Rannikko was in the zone now, nailing another triple to reach 8 points in five minutes in the last quarter and bring Khimki within 53-50. Maroussi kept it nerve though and Glyniadakis and Kaimakoglou helped for a 9-point run and a 64-52 safety cushion with less than three minutes still to play. Khimki’s poor decision making continued as Maroussi celebrated a 71-58 win to start the Last16.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Stelios Kyriakoglou, Athens