Greek League, Playoffs, Semifinals, Game 3: May 15, 2008
|
Panathinaikos beat Panionios at home, 98-75, on Thursday to sweep its semifinal opponent for third straight year and advance to the best-of-five Greek League finals for the sixth consecutive season. Former Panionios player Stratos Perperoglou nailed 17 points for the Greens, who now wait for the winner of the other semifinal between Olympiacos and Maroussi. Led by Rod Blakney’s 22 points, the Reds edged Maroussi at home 85-69 to take a 2-1 series lead. Olympiacos can return to the finals if it wins Game 4 on Sunday at Aghios Thomas.
At OAKA, Panathinaikos took an early 13-point lead, 34-21, but Panionios didn’t surrender. Since the hosts didn’t have their usual defensive spirit, the visitors managed not only to cut the margin, but also to run a 15-29 in the second period and take a 49-50 halftime lead. But Panathinaikos led by 69-63 after 30 minutes of play and had en easy job to accomplish in the fourth period, on the way to 98-75. Stratos Perperoglou bagged 17 points, while Kennedy Winston scored 14 points. Vassilis Spanoulis posted 12 points and 7 assists and Mike Batiste added 10 points and 6 boards. From Panionios, Lony Baxter recorder another double-double with 13 points and 11 boards. Levon Kendall and Aleksandar Capin sank 13 points apiece and Ivan Zoroski had 11.
At Peace and Friendship Stadium, Olympiacos was always ahead, but Maroussi tried hard to stay in the game and cut the margin to 57-50 early in the fourth quarter. Then the hosts found balance and concentration and posted their second win in this round, 85-69, and need one more to make it to the finals. Rod Blakney bagged 22 points , including 4 of 5 three-point shots and also had 3 assists and 3 steals. Milos Teodosic scored 13 points and Lynn Greer added 12 points and 4 steals. For Maroussi, Branko Milisavlievic nailed 17 points and dished 4 assists, while Andreas Glyniadakis posted 11 points and Bojan Bakic 10 points.
| Semifinal Playoffs, best of 5 games |
| Record | Team | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | | 3 | Panathinaikos (1) | 91 | 80 | 98 | x | x | | 0 | Panionios (4) | 75 | 76 | 75 | x | x | | 2 | Olympiacos (2) | 87 | 90 | 85 | May 18 | *May 21 | | 1 | Maroussi (6) | 61 | 97 | 69 | - | - |
| Semifinal games | | Game 1 | Panathinaikos vs. Panionios On Telecoms | 91-75 | May 10 | | Game 1 | Olympiacos vs. Maroussi | 87-61 | May 10 | | Game 2 | Panionios On Telecoms vs. Panathinaikos | 76-80 | May 13 | | Game 2 | Maroussi vs. Olympiacos | 97-90 | May 13 | | Game 3 | Panathinaikos vs. Panionios On Telecoms | 98-75 | May 15 | | Game 3 | Olympiacos vs. Maroussi | 85-69 | May 15 | | Game 4 | Maroussi vs. Olympiacos | - | May 18 | | Game 5 | Olympiacos vs. Maroussi | - | *May 21 |
|
|
Vassilis Skountis, Athens
|