Reds lift season’s first trophy in Rhodes
Olympiakos won the domestic basketball season’s first trophy on Sunday as it lifted the Super Cup in Rhodes with an 86-85 win over archrival Panathinaikos.
Rhodes had the opportunity to see arguably Europe’s two best teams face each other, and even if they are not at their peak at this early stage of the season they still produced a thoroughly enjoyable and competitive contest.
The game stopped just four minutes from the start when a slam dunk by Moses Wright of Olympiakos bent the ring of the basket. It took about half an hour for it to be replaced with a spare one.
Olympiakos led from the outset, with the first quarter ending 21-16 and the first half 45-38 in the Reds’ favor. Yet in the third quarter Panathinaikos balanced things out and went ahead with a partial 24-12 before the Reds fought back to edge ahead 63-62 at the end of Q3.
The fourth quarter saw Olympiakos keep the upper hand till the end in a game that has given fans a trailer of the basketball movie to come in the next eight months in Greece and Europe.
In Saturday’s semifinals Panathinaikos had beaten Aris 81-68 and Olympiakos eliminated Peristeri 79-74.
