Reds snatch big win at Panathinaikos in overtime
The Euroleague featured the Greek derby in Athens on Friday from its very first round, with Olympiakos beating archrival Panathinaikos away 88-78 in overtime.
A thoroughly enjoyable match at the Nick Galis Hall saw the two Eternal Rivals battle it out with some spectacular plays and an amazing pace.
The balanced first period, with Olympiakos leading 23-22, was followed by an emphatic Panathinaikos showing with the Reds’ Nikola Milutinov benched.
The first half finished 43-36 in the hosts’ favor, with the third quarter changing little in the game (59-52).
However the fourth one started with an 11-0 partial for the visitors succeeded by a 7-0 by the hosts to set up a tense few minutes at the Olympic Sports Hall, with triples coming from all over the place.
The Greens were unable to score from the last four times they attacked and the game went to overtime with the score at 74-74.
Eventually in overtime Olympiakos was completely dominant, with Milutinov ever present after halftime, and scored 12 unanswered points (86-74) for a precious road win at the start of the five-month-long regular season.
Alec Peters and Thomas Walkup made 17 points each for the Reds, as Nigel Williams-Goss notched up 16. Panathinaikos had Kostas Sloukas score 20 and Marius Grigonis add another 17.
