Panathinaikos downs Olympiacos for Greek title

Panathinaikos AthensPanathinaikos Athens proved once again that the club is the top dog in Greek Basketball by defeating archrival Olympiacos in the fifth and decisive game of the A1 Finals. The 82-71 success propelled The Greens to yet another win over the Pireus club, although this year there was no ugly scenes that marred the final game last season.

While Olympiacos has stolen the plaudits and the headlines in the Euroleague in recent years, it is Panathinaikos that dominates the domestic scene in Greece. While these two great clubs are huge rivals, one could be forgiven for thinking that they have similar records. The truth in Greece is somewhat different as Panathinaikos boasts a far superior domestic record compared to Olympiacos.

The Athens giant has won 15 of the last 17 Greek A1 championships, a level of superiority and dominance that has allowed Olympiacos glory just twice. Indeed, through its history, Panathinaikos has won 34 A1 titles while Olympiacos has 10 to its name, a respectable amount but a thorn in the side for fans of the Pireus outfit.

Simply put, Olympiacos has a mental block when it comes to Panathinaikos and it has meant almost two decades of finals heartache.

Panathinaikos Athens vs. Olympiacos Pireus, 82-71
Panathinaikos welcomed Olympiacos to the Olympics Sports Hall after Sunday’s road victory in Piraeus ensured the club could win the title in front of its own fans. What a treat the first half was for the crowd too as Panathinaikos played arguably its best ball of the season. There’s an old proverb about saving your best until last and The Greens were living up to that with some blistering Basketball that got the scoreboard ticking furiously.

The hosts sent home 30 points in the opening 10 minutes to set a tone that would ultimately win the title, while Olympiacos could only find 19 points in reply. It didn’t get any better for The Reds in the second frame as Panathinaikos continued to press the basket and work a high quality inside game. The Athens players were picking up points inside the arc and from downtown and continued to press hard in the second quarter. Again Olympiacos was left trailing with just 13 points in the stanza, while Panathinaikos secured 23 for a huge halftime lead of 53-32.

A stunning display of scoring had given the defending champions a strong 21 point lead at the start of the second half. With the game all but locked, the home team eased off in the third quarter but did attempt to tighten up in defense in a bid to see out the game with comfort. Olympiacos duly responded by picking up its scoring rate and dishing more assists to cut the lead to 14 points after 30 minutes of play (70-56). Whether it was complacency or the increased urgency of Olympiacos is unclear, but at the start of the final frame, the visitors drew to within 6 points thanks to consistent scoring from two-point range. Luckily Panathinaikos woke up and once again extended to make it an 11-point game. That deficit remained as the final buzzer sounded and the Athens juggernaut once again reigned supreme over Greek Basketball.

Jonas Maciulis had another fine game against Olympiacos by notching 15 points for the winners, but Dimitris Diamantidis was once again the driving force for the champions. Diamantidis secured 11 points, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 2 rebounds as he led from example and later won the finals MVP.

Vassilis Spanoulis is the star of Olympiacos, but he has been conspicuous by his lack of activity in another game against Panathinaikos, scoring just 6 points.

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