WINNERS

PAOK
It would be remiss to begin a focus on Greek winners without special mention of the incredible season that the team of Thessaloniki are having. They are undefeated, they have come out unscathed from their most important matches, they are in the last four of the Greek Cup (with only AEK remaining as major contenders)… There’s not much else their fans could ask for this season!

EFTHYMIS KOULOURIS
The 23-year-old striker is enjoying the greatest season of his career, having scored 16 goals out of 22 matches with Atromitos. The team from Peristeri owe a great part of their fantastic season to his important goals, with the forward being at the top of the goal scorers’ table, leaving players like Ezequiel Ponce and Kostas Fortounis behind. Koulouris is currently on loan from PAOK, that will have yet another reason to be happy this season with the development of their young player.

CHRISTOS VOLIKAKIS
Not much is known about the Greek track cyclist, yet he continues to break one record after another. Volikakis is currently at the top of the scratch race category with 2542 points, having a large margin of the second placed Yogheni Karalyok of Belarus, who only has 1768. The 31-year-old from Volos continues his great season as he has come out first, third and fourth in his last three races. He is also currently ranked third in the omnium with 2432 points.

GRINNERS

BASKETBALL FEDERATION
With the situation constantly deteriorating, the sport that offered thousands of Greeks many moments of pride in the past is falling dangerously out of grace. Olympiacos seem to be more than willing to blame their bad performances on refereeing decisions while Panathinaikos and their toxic president Dimitris Giannakopoulos maintain an air of superiority that is contradicting their appearances, especially in the Euroleague this season. With the two clubs being stuck in limbo, as new press releases and statements are made almost on a weekly basis, the Federation (ESAKE) should have intervened a while ago to settle matters and allow people to focus on what goes on in the court, rather than who blows the whistle, who threw what to whom and everything other than the sport itself.

JONATHAN ASPROPOTAMITIS
This was definitely a week the youngster will want to forget as quickly as possible, since he was given a position in the Mariners’ starting lineup in their disastrous home game against the Wellington Phoenix. “Aspro” (as is his nickname) was in no part able to contain Roy Krishna, who scored twice and provided another two assists for his teammates in the night, leading the Central Coast to suffer their heaviest loss ever and the greatest defeat recorded in the history books of the A-League (2-8). Peter Kekeris can also be included in this category, but his part in the game was a lot smaller, as he was brought in on the 77th minute to replace Josh Nisbet.

AEK
Despite the change at the helm, with Manolo Jimenez coming back to replace Marinos Ouzounidis and help guide the team to winning ways, the club’s performances in the league have been unconvincing. They were annihilated at the hands of Olympiacos, they failed to produce anything meaningful against Aris and even Panathinaikos felt no real threat from them. With their upcoming game against Atromitos being of crucial importance, as the two teams have one point separating them in the battle for third place, the Spaniard will need to come up with some solutions quickly to improve his team’s gaming plan.

Do you agree with our winners and grinners? Do you have any other additions to make? Send through your contributions to alex@neoskosmos.com.au