Panathinaikos Athens march to Greek final
While great rival Olympiacos has been in EuroLeague action, Panathinaikos Athens has been busy wrapping up its Greece A1 title series. Since Olympiacos headed off to the Final Four 2-0 up on Aris Thessaloniki, Panathinaikos has pushed aside AEK in the Athens derby series.
After tying the series up from Game 2, Panathinaikos has won Game 3 and tonight confirmed a berth in the finals series with a victory in Game 4. The 3-1 series win means The Greens progress to their 15th consecutive finals run. The winningest club in Greece A1 history is now hunting its 35th title, but we all know what awaits in the finals.
Olympiacos. Yes, the Piraeus club lost Sunday’s EuroLeague final, but will certainly bounce back to see off Aris in Game 3 on Thursday. By entering the finals series, fans will be treated to a Panathinaikos vs. Olympiacos title showdown for the 12th consecutive season. Panathinaikos has lost the last two championships, but has more time to prepare this campaign.
AEK Athens vs. Panathinaikos Athens, 67-105
Panathinaikos saved the best for last in the semi-finals series. The Greens dominated AEK on the road and broke a century of points in the process. The bench played big for 47 points, while the visitors collected 39 rebounds compared to AEK’s 22 and 26 assists next to AEK’s 10.
The onslaught started from tip off as Panathinaikos led from start to finish. An 11-25 first quarter set the tone of the game and the guests used an 18-24 second frame to lead 29-49 through the long break. The second half was even better from The Greens as they sunk 56 points to completely swamp AEK Athens and take the hosts out of the picture.
Nick Calathes drained 17 points and 9 assists in the win, while Chris Singleton added 16 points, Ioannis Bourousis scored 15 points, and Mike James secured 14 points.
Roko-Leni Ukic paced AEK with 16 points, followed by Loukas Mavrokefalidis with 14 points.