Mantzaris Hits Late Three as Mykonos Beat Lokomotiv 86-84 to Go 3-0

By Taki Panos

It was not pretty, and the coach said so himself. It still counts. Vangelis Mantzaris, playing his first game of the season, hit a three with 51.9 seconds left to put Mykonos Betsson ahead 82-79, and the islanders held off Lokomotiv Plovdiv 86-84 on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, in round three of the FIBA Europe Cup, according to the club's game report and Eurohoops. Mykonos are now 3-0 in Group H in the first European campaign in their history.

If Mykonos makes you think of windmills and beaches before basketball, you are not alone (here is why Mykonos is so famous). The basketball club was founded in 1981, won the Greek A2 Elite League in 2025 and, in its first Greek Basket League season, reached the playoffs and the Greek Cup Final Eight, per the club and its Wikipedia history. Tuesday's game was played at the P. Chanioti indoor hall in Ano Mera, per Gazzetta and the club.

Lokomotiv started faster, going up 5-0 and leading 16-14 after the first quarter, Onsports and the club reported. Tyree Appleby gave Mykonos their first lead at 24-23 on a fast break, but the Bulgarians pulled ahead again and took a 36-35 lead into halftime. The third quarter belonged to the hosts for a while. Elijah Childs hit two threes and Vasilis Kavvadas scored inside to open a 52-45 lead, the biggest of the night for Mykonos, per the club and Eurohoops. Lokomotiv came right back, and it was 60-60 after three.

Then the visitors got hot from deep. Lokomotiv hit a string of threes to lead 65-71, Sport24 and the club both noted, and Eurohoops had them still six points up with about five minutes to go. That is when Jermaine Love-Roberts took the game over. He hit a big three to cut it to 74-76, then drew a foul on a three-point attempt and made his free throws to put Mykonos ahead 77-76 with about a minute and a half left, according to the club's play-by-play account and Eurohoops.

The last minute was a proper scramble. Devearl Ramsey answered with a three for 77-79, Love-Roberts tied it at 79-79, and then came Mantzaris from behind the arc for 82-79, Eurohoops adding that the pass came from Love-Roberts. Ramsey cut it to 82-81, Love-Roberts made it 84-81 from the line with 23.7 seconds left, and Ramsey missed the second of two free throws after a Mantzaris foul, the club reported. Appleby's free throws made it 86-82, and Lokomotiv's last basket only trimmed the final margin.

Love-Roberts finished with 25 points on 7 of 10 twos, 2 of 3 threes and 5 of 5 free throws, plus five assists and two rebounds, per the box scores published by Sport24 and Eurohoops. Childs added 14 points and 8 rebounds, Appleby scored 13, and D.J. Funderburk had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Mantzaris finished with four points, Sport24 reported, and the box score adds up to exactly that. Small number, big moment.

Mantzaris is not just any 36-year-old guard. He won two EuroLeague titles with Olympiacos, in 2012 and 2013, plus three Greek championships, as Gazzetta and his Wikipedia profile both list. He joined Mykonos two years ago, when the club was still in the A2 Elite League, helped it win promotion, and re-signed in June for a third season, the club announced. He told the club's website then that Mykonos is the first team since Olympiacos where he has stayed for more than a year (translated from Greek).

Coach Vangelis Ziagkos was in no mood to celebrate the performance, only the result. "What we presented was basketball ugliness, both in attack and in defense. Luckily, we had Jermaine Love on an exceptional night. He carried the team on his back," he said after the game, as Gazzetta and the club's website both published (translated from Greek). He also pointed to the guards he is still missing. Ronnie Harrell and Devin Cannady sat out again, according to the club, and Ziagkos said the options in the backcourt are limited.

He saved his warmest words for the veteran. "The return of Vangelis Mantzaris was decisive tonight. He gave us a lot and, in my opinion, he hit the most crucial shot of the night," Ziagkos said, per Gazzetta and the club (translated from Greek). He added that he is always honest with his players and that the picture he saw on Tuesday worries him. He wants a 3-0 team to play like one. Fair.

Lokomotiv deserve credit too. Ramsey had 29 points and 12 assists, per the Sport24 and Eurohoops box scores, and Isaiah Thompson added 18. The Plovdiv club returned to Bulgaria's top division last season after almost 60 years away and lost the finals 3-2 to Balkan Botevgrad, per the Mykonos club's opponent profile, which Gazzetta also published. This is their first European campaign. Their roster even includes Ioannis Kikrilis, a 22-year-old guard born in Thessaloniki who holds Greek and Bulgarian citizenship, per Gazzetta and RealGM.

Zoom out and the European run looks even better. Mykonos opened with a 78-58 home win over Neftchi on October 6, the first European game in the club's history, then won 80-65 at Fribourg in Switzerland a week later, Gazzetta and Eurohoops reported. Back in the league, things have been tougher. The islanders are 1-2 in the Greek Basket League after AEK edged them 84-79 last Saturday. Two competitions with a thin backcourt is a new test for this club.

My take: Ziagkos is right to be annoyed and right to be happy at the same time. Mykonos trailed for long stretches and still found a way, which is what good teams do on bad nights. The bigger story is the club itself. Two seasons ago it was in the A2 Elite League. Now it is unbeaten in Europe with a two-time EuroLeague champion closing games. If you are still building your list of top Greek basketball teams, keep a pencil handy.

Next up in Europe is a trip to Riga on October 28, Sport24 reported. We will follow every step of this island story and the rest of Greek basketball, so keep an eye on our Greek Sports section for every result. Three games, three wins, and a 36-year-old who still knows exactly when to shoot.

Sources: Mykonos BC, Gazzetta, Sport24, Eurohoops, Onsports, RealGM.

Image: Vangelis Mantzaris playing for Olympiacos in 2013, by Ultraslansi, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).