PAOK 1996-1997
NOTE
For more detailed information missing from this file, try the provided links to
to the appropriate files (Player Stats, Team Stats, Scoreboard).
All games included.
SUMMARY
Korac Cup: Eliminated in round of 16 by Benetton Treviso
(9-1 record).
Greek Cup: Eliminated in 2nd round by PAO (1-1 record).
Regular Season: 6th, behind OSFP, AEK, PAO, Peristeri, Aris
(15-11 record).
Play-offs: 3rd, behind OSFP and AEK to whom we lost in semi-
finals (7-5 record).
Next season: We will play in the EuroLeague thanks to the 3rd place
in the POs.
ROSTER
Click here for more detailed player stats.
KC = Korac Cup
GC = Greek Cup
RS = Regular Season
PO = Play-offs
"Games" are considered all games in which a player was among the 10 available
to play, even if he did not play by coach decision. Decimals in games signify
overtimes. So PPG are actually points scored per 40 minutes of play. A "-"
signifies that the player was not among the 10 in any game. A "+" signifies
that he was among the 10 in some games but he never played.
KC GC RS PO TOT GAM PPG %TOT HIGH
PAOK 934 192 1891 877 3894 50.375 77.30 100.00 120
Opponents 772 163 1846 836 3617 50.375 71.80 99
Baloyannis 69 27 145 41 282 44.250 6.37 7.24 18
Beck 28 19 57 17 121 45.250 2.67 3.11 19
Bonner 151 17 392 178 738 49.375 14.95 18.95 24
Boudouris 47 15 161 92 315 50.375 6.25 8.09 16 (19 with OT)
Debbs - - 85 185 270 21.250 12.71 6.93 20 (24 with OT)
Gallos - - + - + 1.000 0.00 0.00 0
Koptis 2 - + - 2 4.125 0.48 0.05 2
Mamatziolas 35 15 98 118 266 48.375 5.50 6.83 29
Nikolaithis 29 4 31 34 98 45.250 2.17 2.52 10
Rentzias 89 20 116 140 365 39.375 9.27 9.37 22
Skiles 133 24 234 - 391 29.125 13.42 10.04 31
Stojakovic 219 29 324 - 572 27.250 20.99 14.69 31
Thespos - - 0 2 2 13.125 0.15 0.05 2
Tsekos 4 4 10 3 21 36.250 0.58 0.54 4
Yannoulis 128 18 238 67 451 49.375 9.13 11.58 23
PAOK 934 192 1891 877 3894 50.375 77.30 100.00 120
Opponents 772 163 1846 836 3617 50.375 71.80 99
In June 1996 Stojakovic and Rentzias are drafted by the NBA at #14 and 23
Predrag 
Stojakovic
respectively but they stay with PAOK as they are still under contract.
Yannoulis signs a new conract too, with the strange clause that he won't be
bound by it if he is drafted by the NBA in the top-10 in 1997! Garrett and
Funderburke are replaced by Anthony Bonner and Scott Skiles. Skiles later
becomes head coach and is replaced by Dell Debbs. Bane Prelevic leaves the
team to play for Kinder Virtus Bologna claiming that he can not take the
pressure any more, and supposedly accepting a lower offer than PAOK's. However
in this way he opens the door for him to play for other Greek teams in the
years to come, something that was not an option for him before. Steffan Beck
is acquired from Alba Berlin and he is the first European player that plays for
PAOK under the new regulations. Thespos is acquired from Larisa, while Hristou
is released to Larisa but PAOK retains his rights. Gallos is promoted from the
juniors.
CAPTAIN
Nikos Boudouris in his 8th year with PAOK.
COACH
In June 1996, Michel Gomez replaces Thimitris Itouthis who was supposed to stay
as an assistant coach. However, a few days later later Itouthis is fired for
undisclosed reasons. After the elimination from the Korac Cup, Michel Gomez is
replaced by Scott Skiles who quits his player position due to problems with a
Scott 
Skiles
shoulder injury. Tsiskaris serves as an interim coach for one game but he does
not stay as an assistant coach. Flevarakis coaches the team in the second half ofl last game of the season when Skiles is thrown out of the game with
2 technicals.
PRESIDENT
Lakis Alexopoulos in his 2nd year, takes the full responsibility of the
Lakis 
Alexopoulos
financial support of the team. But officially, PAOK is still administered by
4 people, so Alexopoulos' position is not completely secure. In December
Alexopoulos gains the elections for the administration of the amateur sections
of the team (volleyball, swimming etc), which establishes his dominance even
more. But opposition is strong. Ex-president Lakis Ikonomithis, who, along
with another ex-president, Nikos Vezirtzis, are brought to justice as nominally
responsible for the huge debts that PAOK (as most other Greek teams) has to the
Greek state, has vowed to fight Alexopoulos as long, according to him, the
current president is just taking advantage of his position to gain personal
fame and profits.
TEAM STATS
KC GC RS PO TOT GAM PPG
PAOK 934 192 1891 877 3894 50.375 77.30
Opponents 772 163 1846 836 3617 50.375 71.80
Differential 162 29 45 41 277 50.375 5.50
Home Neutral Away Total
Korac Cup 5- 0 0-0 4- 1 9- 1
Greek Cup 1- 0 0- 1 1- 1
Regular Season 9- 4 6- 7 15-11
Play-off 4- 2 3- 3 7- 5
19- 6 0-0 13-12 32-18
GAME RESULTS
Click here for more details.
Home Away
Korac Cup
2/10 Galatasaray 93- 61
9/10 Ovarense 99- 85
15/10 Astra, Sodertelje 120- 63
6/11 Galatasaray 90- 64
12/11 Ovarense 97- 72
20/11 Astra, Sodertelje 88- 79
4/12 Red Star Belgrade 102- 99
11/12 Red Star Belgrade 100- 87
15/ 1 Benetton Treviso 85- 78
22/ 1 Benetton Treviso 60- 84
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greek Cup
11/ 9 Esperos 104- 71
22/10 PAO 88- 92
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regular Season
16/ 9 Aris 62- 73
28/ 9 VAO 86- 72
5/10 Sporting 79- 77
12/10 AEK 74- 87
19/10 Panionios 72- 63
26/10 Larisa 59- 60
2/11 Piraikos 77- 65
9/11 Apollon 81- 74
68- 68
16/11 Iraklis 83- 73
30/11 Peristeri 79- 65
30/11 PAO 57- 86
21/12 Papagou 68- 52
29/12 OSFP 58- 72
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4/ 1 Aris 80- 76
11/ 1 VAO 84- 73
18/ 1 Sporting 80- 84
26/ 1 AEK 64- 74
2/ 2 Panionios 74- 68
8/ 2 Larisa 70- 52
15/ 2 Piraikos 80- 90
22/ 2 Apollon 70- 66
1/ 3 Iraklis 72- 60
8/ 3 Peristeri 83- 83
92- 94
15/ 3 PAO 54- 61
19/ 3 Papagou 78- 67
22/ 3 OSFP 58- 62
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Play-offs
5/ 4 Iraklis 89- 79
9/ 4 Iraklis 75- 79
12/ 4 65- 51
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15/ 4 PAO 64- 88
17/ 4 PAO 90- 85
19/ 4 PAO 77- 66
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29/ 4 AEK 54- 70
3/ 5 AEK 68- 70
59- 59
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10/ 5 Peristeri 69- 65
13/ 5 Peristeri 62- 75
17/ 5 Peristeri 86- 61
20/ 5 Peristeri 78- 47
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BOXSCORES & GAME PROFILES
Click here for boxscores and game profiles.
IMPORTANT GAMES & EVENTS
20/ 6/96 Our new head coach, Gomez arrives in Thessaloniki.
21/ 6/96 Bane Prelevic declares that he won't play for PAOK next season.
It is reported that he will play for Buckler Bologna for half
the money that PAOK offered him. Prelevic, who wanted to leave
PAOK since many years before, benefited from the "Bosman" case
that permited him to play as a European in all EU countries,
except Greece, where he is restricted to play only for PAOK.
PAOK fans are very discouraged by the news, which, however,
should be expected. Prelevic, being 30 years old, HAD to go to
a competitive team that would give him a good shot at the
European Championship. An Italian team, given that the 96-97
European League final-4 is going to be held in Rome, is
apparently an excellent choice! Prelevic also claimed that he
was tired of the pressure that he felt to win games for PAOK.
26/ 6/96 Stojakovic is drafted at #14 by the Sacramento Kings and
Rentzias at #23 by the Denver Nuggets. Both players are bound
by contracts to play with PAOK for another 1 or 2 years, but
Stojakovic apperas committed to try to break it. He sues the
Greek man who adopted him in order to play as Greek in Greece
claiming that he had not given his consent for this adoption as
an adult! At the same time his real father demands a big
increase in his son's sallary. Rentzias, on the other hand,
seems that he is committed to stay for at least another year
with PAOK. However, he also challenges his contract, claiming
that he also was not of age and the contract had the signature
of his father only, and not of his mother, as, apparently, Greek
law requires.
29-30/ 6/96 Thimitris Itouthis is fired from the assistant coach position
for unknown reasons. Perhaps Gomez wanted to select himself his
assistants or the management decided to move ahead without any
of the coaching staff from the previous year that was
characterized by complete lack of discipline. Steffan Beck is
acquired from Alba Berlin. The draw for the groups for the
96-97 European competitions is held in Munich. PAOK will play
for the Korac Cup in Group 13 along with Galatasaray (Turkey)
and the winners of the series Hienefex (Luxemburg)-Ovarense
(Portugal) and Fero (Ukraine)-Astra(Sweden). If PAOK advances
will probably have to play in the next rounds against Red Star
Belgrade from Yugoslavia and Benetton Treviso from Italy.
7/96 - 9/96 Skiles, Bonner, and Thespos are acquired. Alexopoulos attacks
Prelevic in an interview, expressing his astonishment that PAOK
fans have not taken a stand against the player who abandoned
the team.
22/ 8/96 Fenerbahce does not participate in the Thessaloniki tournament
as scheduled, claiming that was not satisfied by the security
that the city and the organizers made available to the team.
Their fears sprang from the recent incidents in Cyprus, when 2
unarmed Greek Cypriots were killed when they crossed the "green
line". It's a mystery what will happen when PAOK and
Galatasaray will meet later in the year for the Korac Cup. In
the first day of thournament PAOK defetas Olimpia Liubliana
82-79 (Stojakovic 23, Skiles 13).
24/ 8/96 PAOK defeats Partizan Belgrade 88-71 (Stojakovic 21, Beck 17,
Yannoulis 17)
26/ 8/96 PAOK wins the tournament crashing Teamsystem Bologna in the
final 73-56 (Bonner 18, Stojakovic 16).
28/ 8/96 PAOK beats Vigo of Spain 93-60 (Stojakovic 25, Yannoulis 17).
29/ 8/96 PAOK losed to Real Madrid 79-83 with 2 3-pointers by the
Spanish team at the end (Bonner 23, Beck 15). Real shoots 32
free-throws, against 10 for PAOK. Skiles is reportedly upset
with his limited playing time.
30/ 8/96 PAOK loses to Granada 92-100 (Stojakovic 28, Beck 12, Bonner
12).
2/ 9/96 Unsubstantiated rumors have Galis signing with PAOK.
PAOK will have to play Panathinaikos on the road for the second
round of the Greek Cup. Skiles is reportedly satisfied with
the 4th home that he tried in Thessaloniki...
11/ 9/96 PAOK beats Esperos 104-71 for the 1st round of the Greek Cup
(Beck 19, Baloyannis 18). Stojakovic doesn't play and threatens
not to play against Aris on 16/9 unless PAOK renegotiates his
current contract but only for 2 years.
15/ 9/96 Stojakovic threatens to appeal to an international court to
gain his free-agency and declares that he is not going to play
againsta Aris. Bonner has a problem with a death in the family,
while Rentzias and Skiles are nursing injuries.
16/ 9/96 Bonner keeps PAOK alive for 25', as Ortiz loses playing time
due to injury and PAOK is up 35-34 at halftime and 43-38 a
little later. But Stojakovic' absence does not leave any hope
for PAOK. Aris is terrible on the free-throw line (~40%) but
still wins easily 62-73 (Skiles 15, Beck 13, Bonner 12).
20/ 9/96 Stojakovic signs a one-year contract. Under it's terms, he will
be free to join the NBA after 2 years, and if, later, he wishes
to play outside the NBA, PAOK will be able to match any offer
by another team and maintain his rights for 4 more years.
21/ 9/96 No games due to elections in Greece.
28/ 9/96 Stojakovic does not start the game against VAO on the road, and
PAOK has problems. With less than 5' left PAOK is up only by 2
points, but at the end we win easily 86-74 (Stojakovic 18,
Baloyannis 15, Skiles 14).
2/10/96 PAOK wins very easily against Galatasaray 93-61 (Bonner 20,
Stojakovic 20).
5/10/96 PAOK wins with great difficulty against Sporting 79-77.
The game was on the line with a few seconds left, and could go
either way. This was a disappointing performance from many
non-key players. It seems that PAOK has a few good players but
there is not enough good help from the bench (Stojakovic 29,
Skiles 22, Bonner 19).
9/10/96 PAOK plays in Portugal against Ovarense and opens an early 10
point lead, loses it and then in the last 5' of the first half
builds a 20 point lead. Gomez keeps out of the game Skiles
and Stojakovic and Ovarence comes back with a 7-27 streak at the
beginning of the second half and ties the game. But the
Portuguese players are tired. Yannoulis makes some key baskets
and PAOK wins the roller-coaster 99-85 (Stojakovic 25, Skiles
19, Baloyannis 16).
12/10/96 PAOK starts the game against AEK in Athens well, but soon things
take a turn for worse. We lose 74-87 with AEK's center,
Victor Alexander scoring 27 and grabbing 14 rebounds (Bonner 19,
Skiles 18, Stojakovic 18). Rentzias finishes yet another game
with 0 points. It's indeed a mystery why a first-round NBA
draft pick does not perform up to par for PAOK. It shouldn't
be a coach problem, since this trend is consistent with all the
5 (or more) coaches that PAOK had during the last couple of
years. This is of course may have had a negative effect in his
development, but still can not explain the huge discrepancy
between the expectations that experts had of him, and his
performance. Stojakovic, on the other hand, has evolved to a
team leader, scoring more than 20 PPG since his return.
15/10/96 PAOK is down 26-27 when Gomez demands tough defence. PAOK
goes onto a 30-2 streak to end the first half, and then cruises
to a 120-63 blowout of the Swedes.
19/10/96 Skiles and Bonner have a very good game and PAOK beats easily
Panionios 72-63 (Skiles 25, Bonner 15).
22/10/96 With Stojakovic and Yannoulis ejected with 5 fouls, PAOK is in
the game but our players miss 4 tries for 3 in the last minute
and we loose to PAO at Athens 88-92 (Stojakovic 29, Mamatziolas
12, Skiles 11). Very bad officiating by Vithalis and an
excellent game by Ikonomou (36 points) led to the early
elimination of our team from the Greek Cup.
26/10/96 A very disappointing 59-60 defeat in Larisa by the local team
apparently defines what we should be expecting for yet another
year from our team (Stojakovic 17, Bonner 9). Mamatziolas and
Stojakovic took shots at the last seconds to win the game but
missed. Baloyannis gets injured and he is expected to miss
several games. It is conceivable that recent rumors having
Gomez replaced by Kioumourtzoglou will become true. However
that would be a huge mistake by our officials, no matter what
apparent short-term good results any coach replacement may
bring to the team. Since Ivkovic and Markopoulos were released
from PAOK, we are suffering from a "bad-coach" syndrome that
blames all failures to the coaches. Sakota, Laios,
Alexanthris, Itouthis, Kioumourtzoglou, Lukaic all were
failures? And now Gomez? And we turn back to a coach that
left PAOK presumably because the same officials were not
willing to establish the discipline he required from the
players. PAOK needs badly coaching stability and patience.
It's stupid to insist that we have the best players that do not
play well because of the coaches' faults, when this happens
again and again, with one coach after the other. Wrt coach "K"
specifically, let's not forget Yannoulis' accusations last year
about the very bad treatment he had from the coach. And we
expect now this bad blood to dissolve? The future of our team
is gloomy if we change coaches again. Alexopoulos should keep
Gomez in the team.
30/10/96 Rentzias theratens to to the US if PAOK does not agree to a
$600,000 annual salary for 4 years. PAOK's offer is $400,000
annual salary for 4 years.
2/11/96 Another poor performance leads to a 77-65 win against the weak
Piraikos team (Stojakovic 25, Bonner 19, Rentzias 12). The
game got as close as 70-65.
6/11/96 PAOK plays for the first time in the team's history in
Constantinople, the city of origin of the refugees who
established the team in 1926, and wins easily against a weak
Galatasaray team 90-64 (Bonner 22, Stojakovic 21, Skiles 17).
9/11/96 PAOK needs OT (regulation 68-68) to beat Apollon at home 81-74
(Stojakovic 26, Bonner 16, Skiles 12).
12/11/96 PAOK wins easily against Ovarense 97-72 (Stojakovic 25, Bonner
20).
16/11/96 Rentzias has a very good game, Stojakovic continues his scoring
streak, and PAOK beats Iraklis in Ivanofio 83-73 despite being
up just by 3 points with about 5 minutes left (Stojakovic 28,
Bonner 19, Rentzias 14). This was a must-win game for PAOK
against a weakenedm comapred to previous years, Iraklis team.
20/11/96 In a stadium packed my thousands of emigrant PAOK fans, PAOK
beats Astra, S\366dert\344lje in a game with no importance 88-79
and finishes the group games with an unblemished 6-0 record
(Stojakovic 27, Bonner 22, Skiles 15, Yannoulis 12).
23/11/96 The Greek League takes a day off to allow the Greek national
team to prepare better for a game in Bielorussia.
30/11/96 Playing before the eyes of visiting family members, Skiles
scores 27 in the first half and leads PAOK to a 79-65 home
win against a strong Peristeri team despite Rentzias' absence
due to cold cought in Bielorussia where he played mid-week with
the Greek national team (Skiles 31, Stojakovic 19).
4/12/96 This time Bonner is absent and PAOK beats Red Star in Belgrade
102-99 (Stojakovic 26, Yannoulis 21). Bane Prelevic and Zoran
Savic are on the stands, as Kinder Bologna is also playing in
Belgrade the next day.
7/12/96 The 8 win streak comes to an abrupt end as Maljkovic' PAO
crashes us 57-86 in Athens (Stojakovic 16, Bonner 14).
11/12/96 PAOK wins easily over Red Star 100-87 (Yannoulis 23,
Stojakovic 21), Yannoulis has a second excellent performance
against the same team, but he has to prove himself against
teams with stronger front lines than Red Star's.
15/12/96 Stojakovic is the MVP of Greece's All-Stars game, as well as
leading scorer for the winning "European" team. Rentzias and
Yannoulis alos played and scored for the "European" team.
Bonner played and scored for the losing "American" team, while
Skiles was in the US fighting another court battle concerning
the custody of his children.
21/12/96 PAOK beats easily Papagou that plays without their American
Predrag 
Stojakovic
players 68-52 (Stojakovic 16, Baloyannis 10, Rentzias 10).
29/12/96 OSFP plays without Tarlac and his second American, Anderson,
at the half the two teams are tied, but still PAOK's offense
blacks out in the second half and we lose in SEF 58-72
(Stojakovic 23, Bonner 21). Yannoulis absence and Skiles'
scoring only 2 points were certainly factors in yet another
disappointing performance against strong teams.
4/ 1/97 PAOK opens a 13 point lead in the second half against Aris,
more than matching the differential from the first round game.
Then th egame turns to a series of runs: 21-7 for Aris, later
0-6 for PAOK, 7-0 for Aris and Aris is up by 2 with about 2
minutes left. Then Skiles hits a crucail 3 pointer that starts
a 8-0 run for PAOK. We win the game 80-76, but we don't
the 11 points negative differential from the first round game
(Stojakovic 27, Skiles 19, Bonner 15). Now Aris has the upper
hand in case of a 2-way tie.
11/ 1/97 Another win but disappointing performance against the league's
weakest team, VAO. PAOK opens a 15-20 point lead, which is
reduced to 2 in the second half before we end up winning 84-73
(Stojakovic 22, Yannoulis 19, Bonner 18). Thespos makes the
team for the first time since he joined the team the previous
summer, as he was injured in a car accident before the start of
the season.
13/ 1/97 According to rumors, Skiles' replacement is imminent. The
great ex-NBA player has given some magnificent assists, but
has been very inconsistent in scoring, a liability on defence,
and has not been able, reportedly, to overcome his family
problems resulting from his recent divorce. It's a shame,
since Skiles is a leader and very good player, and could help
PAOK significantly. PAOK is in a tough situation, as the most
important game of the season, up to this time, is coming up
against Benetton, and the other 2 point guards (Boudouris and
Nikolaithis) have not seen much playing time this year.
14/ 1/97 The latest news is that Skiles himself asked to leave, and he
agreed to stay for the 2 games against Benetton. However, even
if PAOK advances to the next round, we will not be able to
replace Skiles for the remaining games for the Korac Cup. In
the Greek league replacements are allowed until the end of
January. In the meantime, PAOK faces another big problem, as
our young center, Rentzias, broke his fibula (Greek: peroni)
and he is expected to be out for 4-6 weeks.
15/ 1/97 Despite playing without Rentzias, having Skiles and Bonner
nursing injuries, and being down by 7 points at halftime, PAOK
pulls a 85-78 win against the Italian League leader,
Benetton Treviso, thanks to the excellent game by Stojakovic
Predrag 
Stojakovic
and Yannoulis (Stojakovic 31, Yannoulis 19, Skiles 15,
Baloyannis 12). It still seems unlikely that PAOK will manage
to advance to the final 8 of the Korac Cup. The new system
invented by FIBA is very unfair, since the top 2 teams can
potentially face each other in the round of 16. PAOK, with a
9-0 record, faces now elimination if we lose on the road by
more than 7 points to the leader of the Italian League!
18/ 1/97 PAOK hasn't won a game away from Thessaloniki against a Greek
team and continues to do so losing to Sporting 80-84
(Stojakovic 28, Skiles 19, Bonner 15, Yannoulis 13). The lack
of help from the bench is obvious.
22/ 1/97 Stojakovic gets injured in the 15th minute having scored just
2 points, and as Rentzias is also absent, PAOK, despite being
down just by 9 at halftime (we had to los eby less than 7),
gets killed in the second half 60-84 by Benetton in Treviso and
is eliminated from the Korac Cup (Skiles 16, Bonner 13,
Yannoulis 12). This is probably the last game for Skiles with
the team. Everything seems bleak for PAOK...
24/ 1/97 Michel Gomez is fired. Tsiskaris is going to coach PAOK in
only one game in a futile battle against Ioannithis' AEK, as
Stojakovic will miss the game due to a bruised right leg, and
Rentzias is still out with a hair fracture on his leg. Skiles
will play his last game against AEK, and from the next day he
will be the new PAOK headcoach!
25/ 1/97 Although PAOK is unlikely to finish the regular season at any
place different than the 6th, Aris' win at Athens against PAO
opens the possibility for PAOK to play the POs pre-semi-final
without home-court disadvantage!
26/ 1/97 PAOK opens a 28-17 lead but AEK after 0-9, 0-10, and 0-7
streaks goes up 53-63. A 7-0 run by PAOK leads to a 62-64 game
with 3 minute sto go, but Edwards hits a 3, and PAOK, without
the injured Stojakovic and Rentzias is unable to react and
loses 64-74 (Skiles 21, Bonner 16, Yannoulkis 14). Skiles has
supposedly played the last game of his career as a professional
player and the first as a professional coach at the same time!
The loss was an expected one, and PAOK put up a good fight,
giben the injury problems that we had. Dell Debbs will replace
Scott Skiles according to rumors.
28/ 1/97 Dell Debbs signs with PAOK for $150,000 for the remainder of
the season. In a nice -as much as diplomatic- gesture, Skiles
offers to pay himself Debbs' salary, but Alexopoulos refuses.
1/ 2/97 Peristeri wins at Sporting's home, Aris loses in Thessaloniki
to Papagou (!) and now PAOK's hopes for a favorable match-up in
the POs lie only on our hands. But without Stojakovic' and
Rentzias' hands, and with a new player just having replaced
Skiles, it's highly unlikely that we will get a win at
Panionios' home. We may have to suite ourselves with
maintaining the 6th place, and then hope for the team to be
healthy and pull a couple of upsets in the POs, which we have
never donme in the history of the Greek POs...
2/ 2/97 Skiles, in his first game as the official PAOK headcoach, leads
PAOK to an unexpected 74-68 win against Panionios at Athens,
which is the 1st for PAOK in Greece this season away from
Thessaloniki (Bonner 24, Debbs 20, Yannoulis 14). This win was
especially surprising due to the continued absence of
Stojakovic and Rentzias but its value is compromised due to
Panionios' recent change of both their foreign players. Dell
Debbs had an excellent first game offensivley, but his
deffensive abilities are still questionable.
8/ 2/97 Playing without Stojakovic, Rentzias, and Baloyannis, PAOK
beats Larisa 70-52 (Bonner 15, Boudouris 15, Debbs 14,
Yannoulis 13).
15/ 2/97 Despite big offensive contributions from Mamatziolas and
Baloyannis and a 50-42 first half lead, PAOK falls victim to
the usual letdown in the second half and, being once again
dominated on the boards, loses 80-90 to Piraikos, one of the
worst teams in the league (Mamatziolas 18, Baloyannis 15,
Bonner 12, Yannoulis 12). This is an extremely disappointing
loss, and the absence of Stojakovic and Rentzias are not a good
enough excuse.
22/ 2/97 PAOK is lucky to face a disappointed Apollon team from their
elimination from the European Cup, and, despite the unexpected
continuation of Stojakovic' absence we win 70-66 on the road
keeping alive the dim hopefor the 3rd regular season position
(Bonner 24, Yannoulis 14, Boudouris 8, Beck 7, Debbs 7).
1/ 3/97 PAOK, this time with Renztias but again without Stojakovic,
although the latter was supposed to return earlier than the
former, opens up an early lead and beats Iraklis easily 72-60
(Mamatziolas 17, Boudouris 14, Bonner 9, Renztias 9).
8/ 3/97 WHAT COULD GO WORSE FOR PAOK AND STOJAKOVIC?
45 days after his injury in Treviso, Stojakovic returns, and
a few minutes into the game breaks his fibula (Greek: peroni)
Predrag 
Stojakovic
just as he did on 30/8/95... I'm not sure at this point
whether it's the same leg he broke then, or whether this is the
same leg he injured in Treviso. Having lost Stojakovic for the
season, our struggle for the 3rd place at the end of the POs
has become kind of futile. However, even without Stojakovic
and with Debbs scoreless, PAOK players put up a good fight in
Peristeri. But only to go through 3 more shocks! PAOK is up 9
points with 5 minutes to go, when Koronios sinks 3 3-pointers
and Peristeri gets the lead. However PAOK comes back and with
a few seconds left we are up 83-80. But Bonner fouls Cheatum
in a 3-point attempt and Cheatum sinks all 3 freethrows to send
the game to OT. In OT, and with 25'' left and the game tied at
92, the refs give a jumpball that Peristeri wins, while they
should have given the ball to PAOK. Gurovic misses, but
Aposkitis gets the offensive rebound and in zero time he scores
to give Peristeri a 92-94 win (Boudouris 19, Bonner 18,
Yannoulis 17, Baloyannis 12, Mamatziolas 12, Rentzias 12,
Stojakovic 2). Coach Skiles, after the game, says to the
reporters that he has seen bad officiating, but none like this.
Whether this is true or he was just very upset (justifiably), I
don't know (the game was not televized for my infoagents to
have a personal opinion)...
9/ 3/97 WELL, HERE IT IS
It is found that Stojakovic did not break only his fibula
(Greek: peroni) but BOTH the leg bones below the knee (Greek:
knimi and peroni), and the break was a "complete" one (crushing
/sintriptiko). Stojakovic undergoes a 3 hour successful
surgery and he is expected to be back, completely healthy, in
about 4 months, just in time for the pre-season training.
This is a great pity for the young player, who is certainly the
best European player playing currently in Europe. But having
twice broken his leg (granted at different locations) at this
young age is not a good sign for his future. Because it is not
only talent that a player needs for a long and fruitful career.
Whether he came back too early after the strain he suffered on
January 22nd, and this contributed to his injury, I don't know
but I certainly hope not, but PAOK's medical team said that he
was completely healed, and the injuries were completely
unrelated. He was injured while pivoting in (or close to) the
paint in the game against Peristeri, in Peristeri, and while
being guarded by Gurovic.
15/ 3/97 Without Stojakovic and with an expectedly unfriendly
officiating, a bad PAOK loses to PAO 54-61, and our chances for
any regular season place above the 6th are minimized (Yannoulis
17, Bonner 16). At the same time both Peristeri and Aris lose,
so it's likely that if PAOK masbkes it to the final-8, we will
have to face PAO with home court disadvantage. The problem now
is, that without Stojakovic and having, most likely, to face
Iraklis in the first PO round, it is questionable even whether
we will participate in next year's Korac Cup (for the first
time since about 1980...).
19/ 3/97 In a game without importance for PAOK, we beat Papagou in
Athens 78-67 with a 19-2 (at least) run at the end of the game
(Bonner 18, Debbs 15, Boudouris 14, Yannoulis 10)!
19/ 3/97 The game against OSFP is moved up a day earlier (to 22/3/97) so
that all games of the last day take place at the same time.
22/ 3/97 Playing without Stojakovic, Mamatziolas, and Rentzias (the 2
former injured, the latter injured or salary conflict) PAOK
puts up a good fight against OSFP and Vithalis, the ref that
stole from us victories against PAO and Peristeri in Athens.
Despite having the 2 American players scored just 9 points
(Bonner 5, Debbs 4) and being behind for virtually the whole
game, we are down just by 2 with few seconds to go, we don't
foul early, and Sigalas sinks both free throws with 5'' to give
OSFP a 58-62 win and the 1st place in the regular season, and
PAOK our 4th home loss this season (Baloyannis 17, Yannoulis
14).
5/ 4/97 PAOK beats easily Iraklis 89-79 (Bonner 22, Rentzias 18, Debbs
Anthony 
Bonner
17). The game was a 3-poin shoot-out, with PAOK hitting 7 for
9 and Iraklis 12 for 15! Rentzias plays very well before the
eyes of the Denver Nuggets manager, Bristow.
9/ 4/97 PAOK loses to Iraklis 75-79 (Bonner 18, Rentzias 15, Debbs 14).
12/ 4/97 After a very bad game dominated by defense, PAOK beats Iraklis
65-51 and advances to the final-8 (Rentzias 22, Debbs 14).
Rentzias has another very good game.
15/ 4/97 PAO has just fired coach, Maljkovic, and finished 4th in the
Greek Cup final-4, but still finds a way to kill us 88-64
(Yannoulis 18, Beck 11, Debbs 11).
17/ 4/97 In his best game in his 8-year career with PAOK, and probably
one of the most impressive shooting performances in the history
of Greek basketball, Mamatziolas, usually a bench player,
Ahilleas 
Mamatziolas
scores 29 points without missing a shot (5/5 3p, 6/6 2p, 2/2
1p), has 7 rebounds and no turnovers, and leads PAOK to a
difficult 90-85 win against PAO, whose palyers hit 16
three-pointers (Mamatziolas 29, Debbs 16, Boudouris 14,
Rentzias 13, Bonner 12)! Boudouris missed many free-throws,
but hit 7/8 in the last crucial minute. Unfortunately, only
1,500 of the disappointed PAOK fans showed-up to help the team
in this so important game, obviously believing that even if we
won, our chances to advance to the final-4 would be minimal.
The series is now tied 1-1, and a 3rd and final game in 2 days
will decide everything. After the game Bristow announces that
the Denver Nuggets do not include Rentzias in their plans for
Efthimis 
Rentzias
the 97-98 NBA season. They will either trade his rights or
wait for his developing his rebounding abilities by playing in
Europe. Bristow complimented though Rentzias' shooting touch.
19/ 4/97 An amazing 77-66 win for PAOK in Athens against PAO (Debbs 20,
Bonner 17, Boudouris 16, Baloyannis 11)! Mamatziolas stays
Yorgos 
Baloyannis
this time scoreless as Alvertis overplays him, but this keeps
Alvertis' scoring low as well, and the other PAOK players play
an excellent game, especially on defense, and take advantage of
the problems of the opponent team that changed their coach just
before the series and a disappointing series of results. PAOK
Celebrating 
the big win!
advances to the final-4 where we will face AEK in a best-of-3
series without home-court advantage. AEK is a team that last
year did not even qualify for the Korac Cup (that is finished
worse thgan 8 out of 14 teams). But this year their new coach,
Ioannithis, who has won 10 out of the last 12 Greek
Championships with 2 different teams, turned the team around,
lost the first seed in the POs in the tie-break to OSFP
(champion the last 4 seasons) and lost in the Greek Cup
semi-final again to OSFP by 2 points, while they were up by 1
with 6'' to go. It's a team that plays very strong defense,
but they heavily depend on offense on their 2 American players,
Alexander and Edwards. The problem for PAOK is that we don't
In any case, Skiles said that now the goal for PAOK is the
Championship! Those of us who are more influenced by our
experience of Greek basketball matters and the control that
Ioannithis has on Greek referies, will be very glad with the
3rd position that will qualify us for next year's EuroLeague.
If we lose the series to AEK, we will play for the 3rd position
probably against Peristeri or Aris (series tied at 1-1,
assuming OSFP will eliminate Apollon and Peristeri or Aris).
20/ 4/97 Peristeri beats Aris, so, unless Apollon pulls the huge upset
against regular season leader, OSFP, PAOK will play both rounds
in the final-4 with home-court disadvantage. Hwoever, the
current view is that as a team we match-up better against
Peristeri than Aris. We have to wait and see.
29/ 4/97 As expected, based on previous game experience, Alexander kills
PAOK with 20 first-half points that give AEK a 48-21 lead at
halftime. In the second half PAOKO plays better, but all we
achieve is to bring down the differential to 10 points, before
we lose 54-70 (Bonner 15, Debbs 12, Mamatziolas 10).
3/ 5/97 After a suspensful game, PAOK loses to AEK in OT 68-70 and
fails to extend the series to a 3rd and final game (Debbs 24,
Bonner 18, Yannoulis 9, Rentzias 8, Boudouris 5, Baloyannis 4).
PAOK was down 18-30 at some point, but went ahead 52-45 when
Rentzias missed 2 crucial free throws. AEK answered with 2
3-pointers, and the game was close until the end. At 58-54
Potharas scored a 3-pointer. With 19'' left, Potharas made 2
free throws to give AEK the lead. With 12'' Baloyannis made
only the 1st free throw. AEK players lost the ball and PAOK
had the ball with 11' to go, but Debbs missed. He had a great
Dell 
Debbs
game until the 30th minute, but apparently got tired and also
missed 2 crucial free throws in OT. In OT, AEK went ahead
59-63 with 4/6 free throws. Bonner scored and Potharas made
Scott Skiles, Yannis Yannoulis, 
and Anthony Bonner
a killer 3-pointer. But then he fouled Baloyannis as he was
taking a 3. Baloyannis this time made all 3 free throws.
Potharas made 1 free throw to extend AEK's lead to 64-67. With
47'' left Rentzias made 2 free throws. With 18'' left
Alexander missed 2 free throws. With 6'' Rentzias gave a 68-67
lead to PAOK with 2 free throws. And at the buzzer, Atruilla
scored a 3-pointer to give AEK the win and the right to play in
the final. PAOK will now play for the 3rd place against the
loser of the OSFP-Peristeri series having home-court
disadvantage. This best-of-5 series is very important, as the
3rd place qualifies a team for the 97-98 EuroLeague.
10/ 5/97 The tough defense that Skiles has orchestrated leads PAOK to a
win on the road to acquire the home-court advantage for the
first time in the hunt for the 3rd place that leads to the
Efthimis Rentzias 
Dell Debbs
97-98 EuroLeague. Despite seeing a 48-35 lead turn to a 56-60
deficit after a barage of 5 consecutive 3-pointers by Peristeri
players, PAOK shows great resolve and answers with a 9-0 run
that results in a 69-65 win (Bonner 18, Rentzias 16, Boudouris
13, Debbs 13).
13/ 5/97 PAOK plays a very poor game, both on defense and ofense, while
Peristeri players can't miss in the first half that closes
22-41. In the second half Debbs plays better and PAOK closes
the lead to 48-55 with almost 4 minutes left in the game. But
2 turnovers, many missed 3-pointers, and adequate foul shooting
by Peristeri lead to a 62-77 loss (Debbs 14, Bonner 12,
Nikos Boudouris 
Anthony Bonner
Mamatziolas 12, Rentzias 11). With 2 seconds left in the game,
PAOK fans, allegedly provoked by a Peristeri player, threw
objects in the court and the game was interrupted for 15
minutes. This unbelievably stupid practice may lead to our
playing game 4 without spectators. There are also some
unsubstantiated rumors that Maxey's (one of Peristeri's
American players) bad performance was not coincidental, but
this evidently didn't help much PAOK...
17/ 5/97 In a most unusual for the Greek basketball tradition series,
PAOK wins again on the road and regains the home-court
advantage, or should we say retains the on-the-road advantage?
Playing again very good defense, and with Peristeri players not
shooting nearly as well as in the previous game, PAOK cruises
to a 86-61 win (Bonner 20, Mamatziolas 20, Debbs 11, Rentzias
Anthony Bonner 
Dell Debbs
10). Skiles asks PAOK fans not to wait for the team in the
Thessaloniki airport, a tradition after a big win on-the-road,
so that the team can concentrate better for the next game when
PAOK will have a chance to close the series at home and gain
the ticket for the 97-98 EuroLeague. Under Scott Skiles'
coaching PAOK has a 5-5 home record and a 6-5 road record, with
5 of the road wins in Athens, and 1 in Patra, cities where PAOK
played very bad during the last 2-3 years.
20/ 5/97 PAOK, despite playing in the POs without Stojakovic and with a
heavy home-court disadvantage due to the 6th regular season
place, manages to capture the 3rd overall place that assures
The official 
game stats
participation in the 97-98 EuroLeague, which means higher
revenues, higher budget and higher expectations. In the final
game, PAOK's defense that was revived by our new coach, Skott
Scott 
Skiles
Skiles, shut down Peristeri and PAOK cruised to a 78-47
triumph, despite having our coach ejected with more than 10
minutes left in the game with 2 technicals (Debbs 18, Bonner
Efthimis 
Rentzias
13, Rentzias 13, Mamatziolas 10). The fans of the team have
something to celebrate after more than 2 years and they showed
their appreciation to the coach by demanding massively his
Rentzias and Yannoulis 
celebrating the 3rd place
Celebrating after the game.
President Lakis Alexopoulos is seen with Skiles at right.
The celebrations continue in one of the night clubs where many
of our players are, unfortunately, regular customers :-)
staying with the team. After the game Skiles announced that he
is leaving immediately for the US for outstanding business and
that he expects PAOK's offer for the new season.
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Author
Stathis Avgoustiniatos / eavgoust@mit.edu / September 1997