Olympiakos beats PAO to climb to the top
Olympiakos has got the upper hand in the battle for the top spot in the Basket League’s regular season after downing Panathinaikos 80-66 at home on Monday inflicting the first loss on the Greens for this league season.
The Reds played a breathtaking first half, leading by up to 30 points (49-19) and finishing the second quarter 24 points ahead (53-29). The Greens regrouped in the second half and cut the distance down to nine points, but to no avail.
The two teams are now level on points, but Olympiakos has a superior head-to-head record. Worse for Panathinaikos, its captain Dimitris Diamantidis limped off injured.
In the games played over the weekend, AEK held on to the third spot edging out ambitious Lavrio 90-82, and stayed one point ahead of Aris that thrashed Arkadikos 86-52.
Kifissia beat PAOK 97-92 and snatched the fifth spot from the Thessaloniki team after an exciting game in northern Athens.
The Peloponnesian derby at Amaliada was ever so tight and had visiting Apollon Patras beat host Korivos 59-58.
In the other matches, struggling Kavala produced a much-needed 90-72 home win over Trikala, and Rethymno defeated Kolossos Rhodes 95-87.
