Reds and Greens prepare for play-off finals
The stage is set now for the Basket League finals between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos after the two giants eclipsed their Thessaloniki opposition in the semifinals of the play-offs, though not with the ease one would have expected.
Aris ended Olympiakos’s unbeaten run since last October by beating the Reds with an 84-74 score in Game 3 of the best-of-five semifinal series on Tuesday, but in Game 4 on Thursday Olympiakos restored the order winning 79-62 to claim the series with a 3-1 score, following two easy victories in Piraeus last week.
Champion Panathinaikos swept PAOK with three wins in as many games, but its first couple of victories at home were not that convincing. It took a good last 15 minutes on both occasions for Panathinaikos to shake off the PAOK pressure and score the first two wins in the series. Game 3 at Thessaloniki was entirely different, as an imposing Panathinaikos triumphed 83-65 on Tuesday to win the series 3-0.
The first game of the best-of-five finals will take place on Sunday at Olympiakos’s home court as the Reds had finished top of the table in the regular season.
PAOK and Aris will fight it out for the third spot, a place in next season’s Eurocup, and the bragging rights in Thessaloniki. Game 1 in this series is also on Sunday.
