Giuliana in Greece

[The Cutter]

Here are a few details and stats we have been able to glean off the web relating to Giuliana's WNBA off-season in Greece.

Giuli is playing in the Greek National Women's A1 League for the "Akadimia 75" team of the Greater Athens municipality of Heliopolis. There are 14 teams in this highest level women's league.

Akadimia just completed the 21st game of its 26 game season last Sunday with a win over Sportink, (60-50).

Giuli had a pretty encouraging stat line in this particular game:

FG 8/15 (53%) - 2's 6/11 (55%) - 3's 2/4 (50%) - FT 6/6 - (4 DR, 4 OR, 8 TR) - 1 steal - 2 turnovers - 4 fouls (committed) - 6 fouls (drawn) - 24 points


Currently, (and for most of the season), Akadimia has been in 3rd place in the league with a 13-8 record. They have a favorable schedule for the remaining 5 games but may not be able to catch the 2 teams ahead of them to move up.

Current standings in the Greek Women's A1 League:

Rank.. TEAM............... W....L...PTS GAMES

1.... PANATHINAIKOS....... 17...4...38... 21
2.... ESPERIDES........... 17...4...38... 21
3.... AKADIMIA............ 13...8...34... 21
4.... KASTORIA............ 13...8...34... 21
5.... THERMAIKOS.......... 13...8...34... 21
6.... SIEMENS............. 11..10...32... 21
7.... APOLLON PTOLEMAIDAS. 11..10...32... 21
8.... SPORTING............ 11..10...32... 21
9.... DASAL............... 11..10...32... 21
10... MEGAS ALEXANDROS..... 8..13...29... 21
11... PANIONIOS............ 8..13...29... 21
12... ASTERAS EXARHEION.... 7..14...28... 21
13... ARIS HOLARGOY........ 7..14...28... 21
14... PANSERAIKOS.......... 0..21...21... 21

http://www.basket.gr/cont/champ/2004/vathm87.asp


Giuliana is a starter for her team and has put up some pretty decent numbers.

Most of the stats below are derived from data on the following Greek website:

http://www.basketresults.net/index.php


Although Akadimia has played 21 games, we have located near-complete stats for only 13 games and just partial stats/results for some others.
The following averages are based on the 13 games worth of complete stats (except where noted.)


Giuliana's partial stats:


Points Scored: 282 (for 16 games)

Average: 17.63 ppg (for 16 games)

3-Pointers: 27 - 1.69 pg (for 16 games)


Rebounding:

Rebounds: 92 Total (remaining numbers are for 13 games)

Rebounding average: 7.08 rpg

Defensive Rebounds: 56

DR Average: 4.31 rpg

Offensive Rebounds: 36

OR Average: 2.77 rpg


Scoring:

Field Goals: 86/159 - (.541)

2-Pt. FG: 65/116 - (.560)

3-Pt FG: 23/43 - (.535)

Free Throws: 34/37 - (.919)



It's difficult to assess the the quality of play in the Greek league or equate these performances with WNBA play - but nevertheless - Giuli's numbers are certainly encuraging to me!


For a few snapshots of Giuliana, sister Gioconda, and teammate Andrea Lalum in Greece, you can check out this link:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/thecutter772004/my_photos


Most of these photos are courtesy of Andrea Lalum from her personal online photo albums. The three girls played together at Washington. Now Andrea and Giuliana have been on Akadimia's roster, however, Andrea is apparently injured and has not been playing recently.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

I was just going to ask what the competition was like in Greece compared to other Euroleague countries. I've always liked that she's a good rebounding guard, and the perimeter shooting the bigger interest for me.

I'd like to think that Mendiola has a spot here, if she didn't they would not have re-signed her I don't think. Right now the Monarchs need backups at the 1 and 2 spots and since they invested a lot in building a better WNBA body for her, she's somewhere in their plans.

 

[The Cutter]

Today's game (4/3/'05): Akadimia 84 - DASAL 71

Akadimia 75 came away with a nice win on their home court in Heliopolis against the Greek league's 9th place team D.A.S. Ano Lusion (last year's Champion) - 84-71.

Giuliana also came away with a nice double-double scoring 15 points and grabbing 13 rebounds for her team. Akadimia lead the game from beginning to end.

Scoring by Quarter:

(24-16) (15-16) (26-16) (19-23)

Giuli's stat line:

FG 6/10 (60%) - 2-PTS 6/10 (60%) - 3-PTS 0/0 - FT 3/4 (75%) - RBD (9 DR, 4 OR, 13 TR) - ASTS ?? - TO 1 - ST 2 - BS 0 - PF (committed) 3 - FO (fouls drawn) 6 - PTS 15

Box Score: http://www.basketresults.net/results/a1/A1-09-B-1.swf


A couple of notes about the box score:

The box score does not always give a precise accounting for Assists. The team total is present but individual data is not always noted. This is a real shortcoming from my perspective on making an evaluation on a player.

The Greeks do include an interesting stat not usually kept elsewhere - the number of fouls drawn by a player on their opponent. This does add a useful evaluation element.

The current standings in the A1 Women's league after today's 22nd round:

Rank.. TEAM............... W....L...PTS GAMES
1.... PANATHINAIKOS....... 18...4...40... 22
2.... ESPERIDES........... 17...5...39... 22
3.... AKADIMIA............ 14...8...36... 22
4.... THERMAIKOS.......... 14...8...36... 22
5.... KASTORIA............ 13...9...35... 22
6.... SIEMENS............. 12..10...34... 22
7.... APOLLON PTOLEMAIDAS. 11..11...33... 22
8.... SPORTING............ 11..11...33... 22
9.... DASAL............... 11..11...33... 22
10... MEGAS ALEXANDROS..... 9..13...31... 22
11... PANIONIOS............ 9..13...31... 22
12... ASTERAS EXARHEION.... 8..14...30... 22
13... ARIS HOLARGOY........ 7..15...29... 22
14... PANSERAIKOS.......... 0..22...22... 22


Akadimia has a crucial road game next Sunday with Thermaikos. They are currently tied with Thermaikos in standing's points; and the outcome of the next game will probably dictate which team will end up in 3rd place. Akadimia defeated Thermaikos at home earlier in the season (70-54).


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Assessing the relative strength of the Greek league with other European teams is not easy. The only benchmark noted this season has been the play of Sportink (Athens) which competed in the Euroleague.

Sportink was the only Greek team in the Euroleague - and - they did not fare well as one of the Group B teams. They finished with a record of 1-11 and did not make the playoffs.

GROUP B ..............................W / L .............Pts

MiZo-Pecsi........................... 11 - 1............ 23
Dynamo................................. 9 - 3............ 21
Bourges................................. 8 - 4............ 20
Ros Casares........................... 8 - 4............ 20
Delta Kosice........................... 3 - 9............ 15
Loko Trutnov.......................... 2 - 10.......... 14
Sporting Athens...................... 1 - 11.......... 13


Of course, Sportink played agaisnt a pretty tough division. MiZo-Pesci of Hungary is in the Euroleague Final Four about to start - Dynamo of Moscow was replete with the likes of Sue Bird and Kamila Vodichkova - and - Bourges was one of the better French teams - etc etc.

Still, the middle of the pack Greek team was NOT competitive with many other European teams - eventhough - the team had a couple of notable American players from time to time - Donneka Hodges (LSU) and Jordan Adams (New Mexico). It should be noted though that the Sportink coach didn't always play (or even travel) his foreign players. I think, when it became clear the team was not competitive, the coach opted to give all the Greek players the bulk of this international experience.

I'm not sure the relative strength of the Greek league can be accuratey assessed from this one example. So - what do you think?

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I still like Giuliana's numbers !

 

[Still JD]

Cutter, thanks for the info! I'm glad to hear she is a starter (which means she is getting some good minutes) and I'm glad to see her numbers. It is going to be an interesting training camp.

 

[The Cutter]

There are good hair days - AND - bad hair days

Of course with many of the au courrant styles, it's sometimes
difficult to tell which is which.

So it is with basketball - it's difficult to tell what is a good game or a bad game when you haven't seen the game and all you have is an incomplete stat sheet to judge by.


Yesterday the Greek Women's A1 league held their 6th annual All Star
game in Tripoli, Greece (not Libia) - and - here is my interpretation of the extravaganza via the stat sheet:

Giuliana was on the winning side and was a designated Starter for her team;
but her stat line appeared less than scintilating:


FG 2/5 (40%) - 2-PT 2/4 (50%) - 3-PT 0/1 (0%) - FT 0/0 - RBD (0 DR, 1 OR, 1 TR) - Ast ??? - TO 1 - ST 2 - BS 0 - PF (committed) 1 - FO (drawn) 0 - PTS 4


Giuliana obviously was not very active scoring or rebounding, and we can't really tell if she was busy didtributing the ball since no individual Assists were registered (although her team had a total of 15 assists.)

Giuli, however, was one of the 12 participants in the Three-Point Shooting contest before the game and managed to hit 13/24 (54%) from beyond the arc - though not quite good enough to get into the final round.


Regardless of Giuli's performance, there are a number of interesting factoids
about this All Star game.


How were the opposing teams chosen?

It appears the game was set up as the Greek All Stars versus the Foreign
All Stars. That means roughly, The Greek players came from a pool of 140 players while the Foreign All Stars came out of a pool of 28 players in the league.


Who won the game?

It was a barn burner - Greek All Stars 82 - Foreign All Stars 83
The Foreign All Stars got off to a quick start and streaked out to a
19 point lead at halftime. Then they coasted??? And the Greek players made up 18 points in the second half to almost snatch the game from the foreigners.

http://www.basketresults.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=114&Itemid=86


Who are some of the foreign players honing their skills in Greece - and hoping to get a look-see in the WNBA?

From the game roster: (I hope I've identified these names correctly

Edniesha Curry (Oregon) - signed with the Indiana Fever on April 4th;
Lindsey Wilson (Iowa State)
Giuliana Mendiola (Washington) - signed with the Sacramento Monarchs on March 6th;
Lenae Williams (DePaul)
Tracy Gahan (Iowa State)
Plenette Pearson (Texas Tech) - still with the Phoenix Mercury?;
Jessie Stomski (Wisconsin) - Drafted by Charlotte (WNBA, 4th round draft pick);
Tricia Skibbe ( Oklahoma State)
Nelsmika Bowman (???)
Erika Valek (purdue) - was in the Mercury training camp last season;
Casey Mofit (???)
Meg Tearney (???)

Who won the Three Point Shooting Contest?

Final round:

Lenae Williams 13/25 (52%)
Lindsey Wilson 12/25 (48%)


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Anybody still reading this far into the post? I'm already suffering withdrawal pains from the lack of NCAA college ball. I can hardly wait till the WNBA fires up!

 

[The Cutter]

Weekly update: Giuliana's team notches another win

Akadimia 75 pulled out another tough road win over Thermaikos in the municipality of Thermi close by to Thessolonika, northeast of Athens.

Akadimia 61 - Thermaikos 54

The outcome was uncertain in the first half with Akadimia trailing by 6 at halftime (21-27); however a strong third quarter with 22 points - more scoring than they managed in the entire first half - Akadimia steadied the game with a slim lead (43-41). Akadimia held on and ecked out a satisfying 7 point win.

Quarter scoring:

(12-12), (9-15), (22-14), (18-13)


Giuliana was leading scorer for her team with 16 points and pulled down 6 rebounds. She was ably assisted by two teammates Zoe Kehagia (12 pts, 3 rbds) and Aphrodite Kosma (15 pts, 10 rbds).

Giuli's stat line for the game:

FG 8/15 (53%) - 2-PT 8/15 (53%) - 3-PT 0/0 - FT 0/0 - RBD (4 DR, 2 OR, 6 TR) - 1 AST - 4 TO - 2 ST - 0 BS - PF (committed) 2 - FO (drawn) 2 - PTS 16

Box Score:
http://www.basketresults.net/results/a1/A1-10-B-4.swf


The current standings in the A1 Women's league after today's 23nd round:

Rank.. TEAM............... W....L...PTS GAMES

1.... PANATHINAIKOS....... 19...4...42... 23
2.... ESPERIDES........... 17...6...40... 23
3.... AKADIMIA............ 15...8...38... 23
4.... THERMAIKOS.......... 14...9...37... 23
5.... KASTORIA............ 14...9...37... 23
6.... SIEMENS............. 13..10...36... 23
7.... DASAL............... 12..11...35... 23
8.... SPORTING............ 12..11...35... 23
9.... APOLLON PTOLEMAIDAS. 11..12...34... 23
10... PANIONIOS............10..13...33... 23
11... MEGAS ALEXANDROS..... 9..14...32... 23
12... ASTERAS EXARHEION.... 8..15...31... 23
13... ARIS HOLARGOY........ 7..16...30... 23
14... PANSERAIKOS.......... 0..23...23... 23


Akadimia is inching closer to second place in the league but will require Esperides to lose two games while winning two more games to even pull into a tie with Espirides.

Next week Akadimia will be at home in Heliopolis to meet Aris Holargoy - a team that Akadimia narrowly escaped on the road in the first round of the season by hitting a three-point shot from half court at the buzzer (72-71). Giuliana scored 24 points with 4 treys in that game.


A correction from an earlier post:

Andrea Lalum, a former teammate of Giuliana at Washington and with Akadimia earlier in the season, was assumed to be injured since her name was no longer appearing in the scoring summaries.

Andrea actually left Akadimia in late January for a couple of 10 day contracts with the Birmingham Power in the NWBL. She still has hopes of being invited to a WNBA training camp. Andrea had a short stint in last year's Storm training camp.

http://nwbl.thestatzone.com/NVGMplayerstat.asp?season=2005&player=326