Keravnos Get Off The Mark

Andreas Pilavas was on the mark on Wednesday night, finishing with a game-high 25 points

Keravnos have recorded their first win of the EuroChallenge season, defeating guests Joensuun Kataja 72-67.

Going into their Group B encounter with a mark in the loss column, the Cypriot's record looked like it may take another hit on Wednesday as their Finnish guests pushed them to the end in a see-sawing game that experienced 10 lead changes. 

But when Bobby Maze drove to the hoop to make a lay-up with 40 seconds remaining, the hosts took a lead that they would not relinquish again as Antonio Crocker made a pair of free-throws and Ioannis Demertzis added one-of-two from the line with three seconds remaining to confirm the win.

Maze ended the game with 10 points but the real star was Andreas Pilavas who went four-from-four from beyond the arc, on the way to recording a game-high 25 points. Decisively, two of the four three-pointers came in the deciding period, a period in which the shooting guard would pick up 10 points from the floor on a perfect shooting display.

With 19 points Jermaine Flowers was the best of the guests whilst veteran Petri Virtanen chipped in with 12.

Quotes Keravnos Strovolou vs. Joensuun Kataja

Keravnos head coach Panayiotis Yiannaras:
"First, I would like to congratulate the team of Joensuun Kataja for an excellent game. The game turned out to be exactly the way we expected it to be. We knew that the team of Joensuun Kataja runs excellent on the floor and shoots excellent at the same time. This was evident during the game. In the first half we did not manage to control the game. In the second half we improved our defense and managed to win the game. This is a tough group. We are focusing on each game separately and hope for the best outcome. Today it was a great game. Congratulations to both teams."

Keravnos player Andreas Pilavas:
"I want to congratulate the team of Joensuun Kataja for their performance. Of course, I want to congratulate my team for winning the game. Today one of our teammates was sick (George Diamantopoulos) and could not play, so each one of us had to step up our game. Regarding my performance, it was a product of a team work and as I mentioned earlier we owed it to the team to fill the gap of George Diamantopoulos."

Joensuun Kataja head coach Jukka Toijala:
"First, I want to congratulate the team of Keravnos. It was a tough game. Both teams played very hard. Our team could not execute the way we wanted because of Keravnos' performance. We focused on the foreign players of Keravnos. We managed to do a good job on that, but some domestic players of the opponent team stepped up their game and did the job for them. Congratulations to the winners."

Joensuun Kataja player Petri Virtanen:
"Congratulations to the Keravnos team. Keravnos had a good start. Following, we managed to control the game. Then it was a horse race, my team had up and down moments and eventually did not manage to win the game. It is a tough group. We now focus on the next game."

Quotes Keravnos Strovolou vs. Joensuun Kataja

Keravnos head coach Panayiotis Yiannaras:
"First, I would like to congratulate the team of Joensuun Kataja for an excellent game. The game turned out to be exactly the way we expected it to be. We knew that the team of Joensuun Kataja runs excellent on the floor and shoots excellent at the same time. This was evident during the game. In the first half we did not manage to control the game. In the second half we improved our defense and managed to win the game. This is a tough group. We are focusing on each game separately and hope for the best outcome. Today it was a great game. Congratulations to both teams."

Keravnos player Andreas Pilavas:
"I want to congratulate the team of Joensuun Kataja for their performance. Of course, I want to congratulate my team for winning the game. Today one of our teammates was sick (George Diamantopoulos) and could not play, so each one of us had to step up our game. Regarding my performance, it was a product of a team work and as I mentioned earlier we owed it to the team to fill the gap of George Diamantopoulos."

Joensuun Kataja head coach Jukka Toijala:
"First, I want to congratulate the team of Keravnos. It was a tough game. Both teams played very hard. Our team could not execute the way we wanted because of Keravnos' performance. We focused on the foreign players of Keravnos. We managed to do a good job on that, but some domestic players of the opponent team stepped up their game and did the job for them. Congratulations to the winners."

Joensuun Kataja player Petri Virtanen:
"Congratulations to the Keravnos team. Keravnos had a good start. Following, we managed to control the game. Then it was a horse race, my team had up and down moments and eventually did not manage to win the game. It is a tough group. We now focus on the next game."