The Christmas carols in Ano LiosiaTwo in one, as they say…
This is the case here, as the spotlight is on the first round of the second half of the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League, which also happens to be the last of the year, so the festive carols will be heard!
AEK Betsson – Aris Midea
Our destination for today’s match is the Sunel Arena in Ano Liosia, where AEK Betsson hosts Aris Midea in the match of the “blue-blooded” teams.
On October 5th of last year, in the opening game of the Championship, the “Queen” conquered the “Emperor’s” palace with a 70-58 victory (Bryce 18-6-1, Kuzminskas 12-4-1-2-1, Hubb 10-1-4, Gray 9-6-5-1/ DeJulius 17-4-4, Woodbury 15-6-1-0-1, Toliopoulos 7-1-2-1, Mantzoukas 5-3-0-2-2).
Since the 1963-64 season, the two teams have faced each other 139 times in the history of the A’ National League, with AEK leading in victories with a score of 71-68, split into 51-17 in Athens and 20-51 in Thessaloniki.
Aris has a 5-1 streak in their last six matches over the past three seasons, including a 93-91 win in Ano Liosia and a 75-64 win at home last year.
The hosts come from two consecutive victories (Marousi 83-81, Lavrio 97-86) and have climbed to No. 5 in the standings with a record of 6-5 (home 4-1, away 2-4) and an average of 81.6 points in offense and 80.6 in defense.
On the other hand, the visitors have suffered three consecutive defeats, including two crushing losses with a total difference of 79 points (Lavrio 84-93, Karditsa 69-96, Panathinaikos 74-126) and have fallen to No. 10 with a record of 4-7 (home 3-3, away 1-4) and an average of 75.3 points in offense and 86.5 in defense.
AEK will be at full strength, but Aris is short-handed as Vasilis Toliopoulos and Lefteris Bochoridis are absent, and the participation of Sharife Cooper, Manos Chatzidakis, and Giorgos Filios is doubtful, while Darryl Willis will replace James Banks.
Key players for AEK include Mindaugas Kuzminskas (15.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists), AJ Bryce (13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists), Prentiss Hubb (11.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists), Hunter Hale (11.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists), RaiQuan Gray (8.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals), Grant Golden (7.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists), Omiros Netzipoglou (5.5 points, 1.5 rebounds), and Giannis Kouzeloglou (5.2 points, 4.1 rebounds).
The “Emperor” counters with Landers Nolley (16.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists), Sharife Cooper (16.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists), Vasilis Toliopoulos (13.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 steals), Trey Woodbury (9.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists), Nate Laszewski (7.6 points, 2.8 rebounds), D’Moi Hodge (6.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals), Josh Roberts (5.7 points, 4.2 rebounds), and Lefteris Bochoridis (5.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.6 steals).
Eight individuals have played for both teams: from the hosts, coach Dragan Sakota (2000-01), Gaios Skordilis (2006-11), Dimitris Flionis (2015-21), Omiros Netzipoglou (2019-23), and Giannis Kouzeloglou (2020-21); from the visitors, Vasilis Toliopoulos (AEK 2019-20), Manos Chatzidakis (2023-24), and Giorgos Filios (2024-2025).
Betting Tips
We had great success in yesterday’s game Bayern Munich-Panathinaikos AKTOR (69-80), hitting the mark on 19 predictions: over two successful three-pointers by Jerian Grant with odds of 4.20, the Greens’ win along with under 173.5 points with odds of 3.50, over three rebounds by Andreas Obst with odds of 2.92, over seven assists by Kostas Sloukas with odds of 2.80, the range of 0-166 points with odds of 2.65, Kendrick Nunn as the top scorer with odds of 2.47, over 23 points by Nunn with odds of 2.42, over four successful three-pointers by Nunn with odds of 2.42, over eight points by Dinos Mitoglou with odds of 2.30, over five rebounds by Nick Weiler-Babb with odds of 2.27, over 10 points by Obst with odds of 2.15, over two rebounds by Grant with odds of 2.15, over four rebounds by Nunn with odds of 2.15, over six rebounds by Johannes Voigtmann with odds of 2.12, over eight points by Grant with odds of 2.07, over 13 points by Obst with odds of 1.95, over eight points by Voigtmann with odds of 1.95, the visitors’ win with odds of 1.95, and their +8.5 points handicap with odds of 1.26.
Let’s move on…
For the game AEK Betsson-Aris Midea, I would bet on the home team’s win along with under 162.5 points with odds of 2.22, the combination of their win with Mindaugas Kuzminskas as the top scorer with odds of 3.60, and the range of 0-156 points with odds of 2.65. In terms of individual performances from the home team, the following bets catch my eye:
- Grant Golden scoring over nine points with odds of 2.12,
- Omiros Netzipoglou scoring over six points with odds of 2.15,
- CJ Bryce scoring over 14 points with odds of 1.88,
- Bryce grabbing over five rebounds with odds of 2.42,
- Hunter Hale scoring over 14 points with odds of 1.87,
- Hale grabbing over six rebounds with odds of 2.50,
- Prentiss Hubb making over three successful three-pointers with odds of 1.72,
- Hubb scoring over 13 points with odds of 1.82,
- Hubb making over seven assists with odds of 2.60,
- Mindaugas Kuzminskas achieving a total of 25+ points, rebounds, and assists combined with odds of 2.22,
- Kuzminskas making over two successful three-pointers with odds of 2.10,
- Kuzminskas grabbing over six rebounds with odds of 2.20,
- Kuzminskas scoring over 18 points with odds of 2.20,
- The most attractive bet: Kuzminskas scoring over 20 points with odds of 3.25,
- The combination of Hale scoring over 14 points and Kuzminskas scoring over 16 points with odds of 3.35.