WINNERS

MATTHEW DELLAVEDOVA
It’s worth pointing out that these lines are being written before the Australian ‘Boomers’ play their remaining two games in the group stage against Senegal and Lithuania. But even the 28-year-old’s single performance against the Canadians is enough to deserve special mention. Just when things were beginning to look tough for Australia, he picked the team up with some crucial 3-pointers that had a devastating effect on the opposition. His shot has improved immensely during the summer and even though everyone was expecting Patty Mills to be the hero of this team, Dellavedova proves that he can do just as much work in pushing the team along. Great appearance!

GREEK BASKETBALL TEAM
We continue this week with another entry from the FIBA World Cup. This time, we won’t be singling out a particular player, but casting the focus on the entire team, as the Greeks dominated Montenegro in their first match with their crushing defence. It’s worth mentioning that the ‘Greek Freak’, Giannis Antetokounmpo, only played for 13 minutes, as his participation in the encounter was no longer deemed necessary by coach Thanassis Skourtopoulos. And for anyone thinking the opposing team was an easy opponent, it is worthwhile noting that their ranks included the likes of Orlando Magic star Nikola Vukcevic.

APOSTOLOS VELLIOS
The former Nottingham Forest player had not made any single contribution to Atromitos since the start of the season. Despite starting up front for all of his team’s games and very rarely being subbed off, Vellios hadn’t really been much of a threat to the opposing goals. He barely made his presence felt. However, the reason as to why the club from Peristeri decided to give him an opportunity to restart his career was made apparent last weekend in the game with Lamia. His team was looking for a late equaliser and the 27-year-old player very calmly controlled the ball inside the box with his right foot. The scissor kick that he attempted afterwards ended up in the back of the net and could already be the goal of the season, not just in Greece, but in all of Europe! If you haven’t seen it yet, you really should!

SINNERS

ASHLEIGH BARTY
After she made short work of the likes of Maria Sakkari in the round of 32 of the US Open, expectations had risen for the world number one, with fans anticipating a repeat the success of Wimbledon, or at least her appearance in the semi-finals. Sadly, she was knocked out one round later (16) by Chinese athlete Qiand Wang. Definitely not the most desired outcome for the 23-year-old player in the final Grand Slam of the season, yet she will be hoping to do better on home soil (Australian Open).

ANNA KORAKAKI
For an athlete that has done nothing but win medal after medal for the past few years, a seventh place at a World Championship can be seen as nothing but a step back. Such was the case for Anna Korakaki. The pistol champion took part in the tournament that was held in Brazil, yet she didn’t demonstrate the same level of accuracy that we’ve become accustomed to. She fought a hard battle just to claim a spot within the final rounds, but she couldn’t overcome the score difference and was reduced to seventh place.

GIORGOS DONIS
Despite a promising start to the season with some good results in the friendlies, there seems to be something wrong in the Panathinaikos dressing rooms. Giorgos Donis refuses to give starting positions to the young Greek players that showed a lot of potential during the previous season, instead opting for the highly doubtful quality of the foreign transfers. This has resulted in Panathinaikos wasting points in their first two games of the season, and putting on a disappointing performance.