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The Weekend Neos Kosmos : 9 April 2016
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DIGITAL.NEOSKOSMOS.COM THE WEEKEND NEOS KOSMOS | SATURDAY 9 APRIL 2016 25 SPORT Olympic Flame ceremonies to contain some of Greece’s shine GEORGE GEORGAKOPOULOS The Hellenic Olympic Committee on Tuesday presented the details of the lighting and handover ceremonies of the Olympic Flame for Rio 2016. The committee stressed that on this 80-year anniversary of the first lighting of the Olympic Flame in 1936, as many Greeks as possible ought to honour it with their presence and participation in the torch relay and the handover ceremony. The Olympic Flame for the Rio Games will be lit at ancient Olympia on 21 April. After a six-day relay around Greece it will be handed over to the organising committee of the Rio Games on 27 April at the Panathenaic Stadium of Athens. In the presentation that took place at the stadium, an Olympic symbol, the president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee Spyros Kapralos said that "besides the timeless significance this flame lighting has for our country, it coincides with the 80-year anniversary of the first time PHOTO: KATHIMERINI. the flame was lit at the sacred land of ancient Olympia, to light up the modern Olympic Games. "The shine of the Olympic In Basket League, father may have sent son down GEORGE GEORGAKOPOULOS Arkadikos and Korivos Amaliadas will fight it out till the end to avoid relegation, while Olympiakos and Panathinaikos survived scares from Apollon Patras and AEK respectively on Monday to remain tied on top of the Basket League, with one game left to play before the conclusion of the regular season. Arkadikos climbed out of the drop zone, defeating relegated Kavala at home 74-68 on Saturday, leaving Korivos inside the danger zone with one game to play, as the Amaliada club lost 92-78 at PAOK. Notably, Korivos coach Haris Markopoulos lost to the team coached by his father, Soulis Markopoulos, who said that was the most difficult day in his life. Korivos, that has recorded more wins on the road than at home (four against three), will now have to beat Lavrio at home on 9 April and hope Arkadikos loses at AEK to stay up and send Flame also contains some of the shine of Greece," he said, adding that "the lighting of the flame links the ancient and modern civilisations and presents to every generation the ideals and values that were born in ancient Greece and then travelled across the whole world, giving physical substance to the meanings of culture and peace". Kapralos also stated that the HOC, in association with the United Nations and the In- ternational Olympic Committee, has already selected the person who will represent refugees in the Olympic torch relay at Elaionas, western Athens. He said that although he cannot release the name, the participant will be a Syrian refugee who has claimed asylum in Greece. The two ceremonies will feature dancers wearing outfits featuring a novel but also classical design, courtesy of British-born Greek Cypriot Eleni Kyriacou. They will be choreographed by Artemis Ignatiou; Katerina Lechou will again be the high priestess who lights the cauldron, while Fotis Kaymenakis will act as the coordinator and director of both ceremonies. Greek pop music superstar Sakis Rouvas will headline the handover ceremony, as he leads the Ellada Boris (Greece You Can) campaign to assist the Greek Olympic squad. The singer called on Greeks to deliver "a message of peace, noble competition, passion, optimism and pride". Super League play-off race wide open the Tripoli team down instead. Olympiakos scraped through the Apollon challenge at Patra with a 77-72 score to hold on to the top spot on its superior head-to-head record with Panathinaikos, while also shaking off the bad loss at Khimki in the Euroleague last week. The Greens faced a determined AEK side at home, and it was only thanks to their latest addition, Elliot Williams, that they managed to emerge victorious from the Athens derby with a 78-71 score. Aris saw off host Rethymno 88-83 on Crete and moved two points ahead of AEK. Interestingly, as things stand, the first round of the play-offs will feature an Aris vs PAOK Thessaloniki best-of-three derby. In other Saturday games, Trikala ensured it will stay up after beating Lavrio 80-75 away, and Kifissia held on to the fifth spot downing Kolossos 90-87 on Rhodes. AEK deducted three points for crowd troubles The Greek Super League has hit AEK Athens with a threepoint deduction, a move which is sure to have a big impact on the upcoming play-offs which decided which team will qualify for the qualifying stages of the UEFA Champions League next season. AEK and Atromitos have been deducted three points and ordered to play two matches behind closed doors as punishment for crowd trouble from their 7 February game, which Atromitos won 1-nil. One fan was stabbed as supporters from both sides clashed with each other and riot police at Atromitos Stadium in Peristeri. “Both clubs must play two matches without spectators and have three points deducted from the 2015-16 champi- onship standings due to the conduct of their fans in the 21st round Super League fixture,” the Super League said in a statement. AEK has said it will appeal the decision. The points deduction harms second-placed AEK’s chances of claiming a Champions League play-off place, dropping it down to 51 points with two games remaining, level with Panathinaikos. This weekend, AEK takes on fourth-placed Panionios, be- hind closed doors, in the second last fixture of the season. Both sides have already qualified for the play-offs. PAOK, currently fifth, needs a win at home against Levadiakos to secure its spot in the play-offs. Panathinaikos has a tricky away tie against Asteras Tripolis, the champion Olympiakos travels to Panetoliko, Kalloni plays Atromitos, Panthrakikos hosts Iraklis, Veria meets Xanthi, and Giannina takes on Platanias.
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