The open criticism by some of the squad's Greek players, in
particular, forced Panathinaikos coach Stelios Kazazis to quit his post in what was the weekend's most important news in the A1 league.Despite Panathinaikos's easy 3-0 home win over Ethnikos Alexandroupolis, Kazazis announced his resignation right after the game last Saturday and revealed that he had already made up his mind three days earlier.
"I realized that some squad members had lost confidence in me," said Kazazis, explaining his decision.
Zoran Gajic and Yiannis Laios are reported to be possible successors to Kazazis.
"The board will do everything possible to find a suitable successor in the next few days," stated club president Stratos Sopilis.
The decision came as a shock, as Kazazis was literally the reason Panathinaikos managed to field a team this season in the league, given that the financial problems of the summer and the fall nearly prompted all the players to leave the club; it was the experienced coach who kept the squad together.
Panathinaikos defeated Ethnikos 25-18, 25-16, 25-16 within 63 minutes to stay two points behind leaders Iraklis, who thrashed bottom side Panellinios 3-0 away (25-14, 25-21, 25-18) despite resting players for the Greek Cup final on Saturday against Olympiakos.
PAOK, in third, saw off visiting Lamia 3-0 (25-18, 30-28, 25-18), staying one point ahead of Olympiakos, who returned from Thessaloniki with a 3-0 win at Aris on Friday (25-17, 25-17, 25-19).
EA Patras were absolutely imposing over Apollon Kalamarias, winning 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-9), but Apollon will not mind too much as Epikouros Polichnis lost 3-1 at home to Kifissia (23-25, 23-25, 25-23, 26-28) to edge closer to relegation, along with Panellinios who are now mathematically relegated.
Aris 0 Olympiakos 3 (17-25, 17-25, 19-25)
Panellinios 0 Iraklis 3 (14-25, 21-25, 18-25)
Epikouros 1 Kifissia 3 (23-25, 23-25, 25-23, 26-28)
EA Patras 3 Apollon K. 0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-9)
Panathinaikos 3 Ethnikos Al. 0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-16)
PAOK 3 Lamia 0 (25-18, 30-28, 25-18)
Standings (after 19 games): Iraklis 45, Panathinaikos 43, PAOK 41, Olympiakos 40, EA Patras 36, Lamia 29, Aris 26, Kifissia 23, Ethnikos Al. 21, Apollon K. 17, Epikouros 12, Panellinios 6.
EA Patras and Kifissia have a game in hand.
source: SPORTINGREECE
