Olympiacos, Panathinaikos win at Greek A1

The top two clubs in the Greek A1 league both posted wins in Round 14 action. Panathinaikos Athens keep their perfect record intact by dispatching with fourth-ranked Aris Thessaloniki, 80-59. They continue to assert their dominance over the rest of the Greek league. Second-placer Olympiacos S.F.P. Pireus (13-1) rolled over VAP Kolossos Rodou, 53-73. The only upset that took place in the round was when fifth ranked PAOK Thessaloniki edged out third ranked AEK Athens at home, 79-75. That was the only real surprise outcome in the round.

Kolossos vs. Olympiacos, 53-73

Olympiacos recently got good news with the return of Kostas Papanikolaou, who was waived by the Denver Nuggets. His addition will only serve to strengthen the already deadly Greek powerhouse moving forward.

Olympiacos’ game against Kolossos only served to highlight how far ahead they are over their competition in the domestic arena. D.J. Strawberry led three other Olympiacos players to score in double figures, compared to Kolossos’ Giannoulis Larentzakis who was just a rebound shy of a double-double performance with 11 points and nine rebounds. He was the only one able to score in double figures. When Olympiacos pressured their host’s top performer, he caved in and committed seven turnovers.

Both teams kept the game close in the first half. Olympiacos was able to pull ahead in the third frame thanks to a huge run. From there, there was no looking back for the visitors. Their lead ballooned to the 20-point advantage seen in the at the fourth quarter.

Panathinaikos vs. Aris, 80-59

Panathinaikos played host to Aris in this affair. The guests received a 22-7 welcome. Panathinaikos was clinical in its successful execution of its game plan and their lead snowballed from there. Their fast pace did lead to more than a few turnovers (19), but Panathinaikos did not allow Aris to take advantage of it and continued their relentless attack. The game was blown out as early as the first half with Panathinaikos building a huge, 49-21 lead. Aris could not recover.

Vladimir Jankovic led Panathinaikos with 17 points and eight rebounds. Aleksandar Pavlovic and James Feldeine added 15 points each.

Dominic Waters was the top scorer for Aris with 13 points.