Apollon Smyrnis kept the momentum gained in a 12:11 victory over Terrasa in the first match of the LEN Challenger Cup final and caused a surprise at the start of the semifinals of the Greek Championships.
Apollon edged out Vouliagmeni 9:8 in the first match. This victory is a historic success for Apollon, which has played in the Greek A1 League since 2017. It was Apollon’s first-ever away victory over Vouliagmeni in the national championships.
Olympiacos cruised to a 16:7 win over Panionios in the other semifinal pair.
2022/23 Greek League, playoffs, semifinals (best of three)
Match 1
Vouliagmeni – Apollon Smyrnis 8:9 (1:2, 2:2, 2:3, 3:2)
Vouliagmeni: Kalogeropoulos 3, Alafragkis 2, Troulos 1, Nikolaidis 1, Almyras 1.
Apollon Smyrnis: Vickovic 2, Gardikas 2, Alamanos 1, Bogdanovic 1, Solanakis 1, Goniotakis 1, Chondrokoukis 1.
Olympiacos – Panionios 16:7 (5:1, 4:1, 4:2, 3:3)
Olympiacos: Dimos 4, Papanastasiou 3, Fountoulis 2, Gkillas 2, Vamos 1, Gouvis 1, Dervisis 1, Mourikis 1, Grammatikos 1.
Panionios: Kopelaidis 2, Gounas 2, Bouzalas 1, Bitadze 1, Kalaitzis 1.
Before the 2023 semifinals, Apollon recorded just one victory in Vouliagmeni’s pool, located on the seashore in Leimos. It happened in the Greek Cup in 2019 (6:5).
This time, like four years ago, the game was an even contest. However, Apollon dictated the pace and led most of the time.
The visitors earned a slim 2:1 advantage in the first eight minutes. They entered the final quarter leading 7:5.
Vouliagmeni scored the first goal in the fourth period, but Apollon regained a 2-goal lead in the 28th minute when Lazar Vickovic found the net for 8:6. Almyras cut the deficit (7:8) in the 30th minute. Shortly after, Kalogeropoulos scored an excellent goal from a distance, and the hosts caught up with Vouliagmeni – 8:8 with 01:19 minutes left on the clock. However, Apollon had the last laugh. Chondrokoukis put the visitors in front (9:8) 51 seconds before the end. After that, Apollon’s defense was up to the task and “killed” Vouliagmeni’s man-up, so a big celebration of Apollon’s fans, who created a fantastic atmosphere, could start.
Olympiacos dominated from the first whistle in the game against Panionios. The reigning champion, still without Filip Filipovic, led 5:1 after the first eight minutes. The Red Whites quickly added four goals in the first three minutes of the second quarter and jumped to 9:1. There was no way back for the Panionios.
The second games will be played on May 2. Apollon and Peristeri will be the hosts.
Playoffs, 5th – 8th place, semifinals (best of 3)
MATCH 1
Peristeri – Panathinaikos 11:7 (3:2, 2:1, 1:1, 5:3)
Peristeri: Nagl 4, Foskolos 2, Kazazis 1, Torakis 1, Koukoumakis 1, Chr. Bitsakos 1, Karuntzos 1.
Panathinaikos: Adzic 3, Hatzigoulas 3, Albertis 1.
PAOK – Ethnikos 10:9 (2:2, 2:4, 4:0, 2:3)
PAOK: Milradovic 3, Charalambopoulos 2, N.Prosiniklis 1, Kalagyros 1, Kechalaris 1, P. Prosiniklis 1, Koopman 1.
Ethnikos: Tesanovic 2, Papadogonas 2, Katsagounos 1, Theodosis – Papaloukas 1, Protopsaltis 1, Mathiopoulos 1, Vallianatos 1.
Peristeri and PAOK opened the playoffs for 5th place with wins. Peristeri controlled the match against Panathinaikos and recorded a comfortable 11:7 victory. PAOK beat Ethnikos 10:9 in the game with twists and turns.
Relegation playoffs (best of 3)
MATCH 2
Nireas Chalandriou – Chania 4:14 (2:3, 1:3, 1:3, 0:5) – score in the series 0:2
Nireas Chalandriou: Chrystoforidis 2, Pantazopoulos 1, Stylianakis 1.
Chania: Maragoudakis 2, Spathis 2, Nikolaidis 2, Pappas 1, Agiougousis 1, Apostolakis 1, Charitakis 1, Da Silva 1, Soleimanipak 1, Mazokopakis 1, Chatzikyriakakis 1.
MATCH 3
Palaio Faliro – Ilysiakos 6:4 (2:1, 1:2, 2:1, 1:0) – score in the series 2:1
Palaio Faliro: Radulovic 2, Tot 2, Mavrakis 1, Kokkinos 1.
Ilysiakos: Ganatsios 1, Bobos 1, Lembesis 1, Arai 1.
Chania and Palaio Faliro will play in the A1 League next season. Chania easily defeated Nireas Chalandriou in both games (15:6 and 14:4). The encounters between Palaio Faliro and Ilysiakos were more exciting. Still, Palaio Faliro prevailed and won the third game, thanks to a better finish (6:4).
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