Greek Federation has collected evidence on suspicious Basket League game / News - Basketnews.com

The game between Kolossos Rhodes and Ionikos Nikaia was surrounded by many rumors regarding its integrity. The Greek Basketball Federation has sent all relevant information and leads to the authorities to decide whether the contest had been manipulated.

Credit: Ionikos BC Credit Ionikos BC

A rather strange Greek league game took place in Rhodes between Kolossos and Ionikos, where the local team prevailed by 89-48.

Loukas Mavrokefalidis

Position:CAge:38Height:210 cmWeight:120 kgBirth place:Jesen, GreeceProfileNewsStatistics

In the hours leading up to tipoff, several betting companies had left the contest out of their list for unknown reasons, while some of them included it on Saturday morning giving a 25,5-28,5 point handicap to the visiting team.

Kolossos are very strong at home this season, having won all of their six games. On the other hand, Ionikos suffered their sixth away loss in Rhodes in as many league contests. On paper, one would expect Kolossos to win that one easily, albeit not by a margin of 41. Besides, those six wins at home weren't blowouts, as most games were decided in the final minutes or even seconds.

After the game, Ionikos fans lashed out on the club's social media pages, essentially accusing their team of throwing the game. On their official website, Ionikos didn't provide a game report, but what looks like an excuse for what happened in Rhodes.

"Any team playing without its two main guys, one of which is its leader, can only face problems. The match against Kolossos in Rhodes went wrong before it started, as Loukas Mavrokefalidis and Diego Capelan could not help the team. So, it was logical that there were no options for us.

Coach Giannis Livanos had planned the game differently, but absences are a part of sports, and basketball. Those who were healthy and stepped on the court tried, but it was obvious that the balance leaned from the beginning on the side of Kolossos, who are in good shape.

It was also evident that Kolossos had been hurt by the defeat in the first round and wanted to get payback, as our team appeared short-handed," the Athens-based club explained.

"It was a completely embarrassing appearance. We all have to take responsibility for it and we must go back, together with the management, and decide on the immediate reinforcement of the team," Ionikos' coach Giannis Livanos commented.

Following the reports and rumors surrounding the game, the Greek Basketball Federation decided to investigate the case by sending a file to the sports prosecutor and the national platform of Sports Integrity.

The Greek league (ESAKE) has already been informed about the investigation of the game in Rhodes, whose details are considered suspicious by the authorities.

According to BN Sports, the Federation had been following the case all along, gathering the necessary information about the game. Next Monday (Jan. 16), the file containing some details will be sent to the General Secretariat of sports as well as to the prosecutor's Office, asking for full clarification.

Per the same report, the Greek federation looked into how betting companies decided to exclude or include the game in their list, the odds' fluctuations, and the huge handicap for Kolossos' win that was changing according to the betting amounts placed on the specific outcome.

The federation had recently sent a file to the Greek sports prosecutor regarding another game that Ionikos played in the league, but no information about the course of the investigation has been made available.

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