Panathinaikos sees off Efes as Olympiakos loses at CSKA

Panathinaikos confirmed its recent improvement with a crucial win over Efes Anadolu at home on Friday, while Olympiakos suffered a predictable reverse at CSKA Moscow, at the halfway point of the top-16 of the Euroleague.

The Greens shook off a rather poor first 15 minutes, after which they trailed 29-21, to beat visiting Efes Anadolu 83-78, for their fourth win in seven games that saw them rise above the Turks on the table.

Playing in front of some 14,000 Greeks, Panathinaikos overcame its three-pointer’s block thanks to the imposing figure of forward Miroslav Raduljica, scorer of 23 points on the night that gave coach Aleksandar Djordjevic more attacking options.

Olympiakos proved a tough nut for host CSKA to crack on Friday, threatening the Russian giant with an upset in Moscow throughout the match.

However the battle of the two Greek coaches saw Dimitris Itoudis beat Olympiakos’s Yiannis Sferopoulos 92-85, forcing the Greek champion to concede over 90 points for the first time this season.

Giorgos Printezis notched up 19 points to become the top scorer for Olympiakos that is on three wins in seven games.

Aris and PAOK bid farewell to the Eurocup on Wednesday, although Aris saw off Armani Milano 83-68, while PAOK went down 79-61 at Limoges.