The dominant Olympiacos of the third period confirmed the title of the favorite in the derby of the Eternals, having won the solemn qualification for the final of the Final 8 of the Greek Cup.

The Red-Whites comfortably won with Panathinaikos 81-65 in the semi-finals, and tomorrow (19/2, 19:15) they will meet Peristeri Vasilisa Spanoulis in the closed gym “Two Aorakia” of Heraklion. for defending the title in the institution and 11th place in their History (1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1994, 1997, 2002, 2010, 2011, 2022). Olympiacos’ winning streak against their “eternal” rival in all competitions is now 11-0.

Olympiacos “threw” Panathinaikos into the defensive “swamp” created by him in the third period and, having found a pace of 6.75 in this period, “built” a two-digit margin of safety, which he maintained without any problems, against the “greens”. ” “, who seemed to be exhausted … With six “sticky” three-pointers and an individual score of 25-3, the Pireans found themselves at +17 (60-43) in the 28th minute and did not look back …

Usual outsider Sasha Vezenkov became Piraeus’ top scorer with 22 points (of which 14 in the first period) and 10 rebounds, while Isaiah Kanan (14 points) and Kostas Papanikolaou (15 points). From Panathinaikos, who had a bad run on Dwayne Bacon (5 points on 0/8 two-pointers and 1/5 three-pointers), Paris Lee scored 17 points, while Giorgos Papagiannis and Derrick Williams added 13 points each.

When the penalty-line defense got its due after the first mess, Panathinaikos seemed to find the rhythm, providing +4 twice (6-10 in the 4th minute and 10-14 in the 7th minute. However, Olympiakos got theirs back in personal defence. in the last three minutes, Fal dominated the basket (2 blocks), and Vezenkov scored 14 (3/3d, 2/3tr., 2/2b.) of the team’s 22 points. match, finishing the quarter with a score of +3 (22-19).

In the second period, Panathinaikos proved to be more effective in defense, forcing Olympiacos to make mistakes and depriving the Red-Whites of a long-range strike. With Vezenkov out for most of the quarter, Yorgos Bartzokas’ team started to fall behind from the 13th minute, and even when they overtook a three-pointer from Larentsakis (35-33) in the 17th minute, they saw the Greens surprise and respond with a series 0–7 during the 35–40 half.

Olympiacos’ defense played a decisive role in the third period, keeping Panathinaikos scoreless in the first five and a half minutes. At the same time, the “red-whites” found a rhythm from 6.75 and with three-pointers 5/5 ended the series 17-0 in the 25th minute, building a difference of 12 points (52-40). As Piraeus continues to work at the same pace, Giorgos Bartzokas’ team ended an impressive individual score of 25-3 in the 28th minute, bringing the difference to +17 (60-43) and finishing the quarter with a score of +14 (64-50). .

In full control of the pace and with the mentality at its peak, Olympiacos saw Larentsakis find a 6.75 goal in the 35th minute and keep the Red-Whites at 75-60 against a Panathinaikos side who had no there was no plan, no power to overthrow… The final 81-65 found Piraeus celebrating and preparing for a repeat against the team of Vassilis Spanoulis, the man who placed and kept Olympiacos in Europe’s elite!

REFEREES: Koromilas, Poursanidis, Theonas

OLYMPIAKOS (Giorgos Bartzokas): Walkap 2, Kanan 14 (3), Luntsis, Larentsakis 6 (2), Papas, Fal 4, Sloukas 7 (1), Vezenkov 22 (3), Papanikolaou 15 (5), Boloboy 2, Black 5, McKissick 4.

PANATINAIKOS (Dejan Radonich): Walters 4, Lee 17 (2), Papagyannis 13 (1), Bohorides 2, Williams 13 (3), Agravanis 2, Kalaitsakis G. 2, Bacon 5 (1), Ponitka 6 (1), Gudaitis 1.

RES – OIE