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Greek League playoffs, semifinals, Game 1: Μay 20, 2007 |
The top two teams from the Greek League regular season started the semifinals on the right foot Sunday with respective victories. Euroleague champion Panathinaikos beat Panionios 85-77 to take the lead in the best-of-five series, while Aris TT Bank edged Olympiacos Piraeus 78-76 in overtime in Thessaloniki. The Greens took an early lead and coasted for much of the game until Panionios made a last-ditch comeback. But the defending champs were cool from the line and finished off the win without problems. Dimos Dikoudis and Dimitris Diamantidis led Panathinaikos with 15 points apiece. Meanwhile, Arvydas Macijauskas's three-pointer tied the game at 68-68 and forced overtime, but Terrell Castle then rose to the occasion for Aris with 5 points in the extra session, including the last point of the game from the line for a big win. Castle led Aris with 21 points.
Showing much more energy than in the recent battles against Maroussi, Panathinaikos took control from the beginning of the game. The defending champs led by 19-11 before finishing the first period with a 27-20 lead, and they pushed even more to build a 43-27 lead midway through the second quarter. Panionios rallied from a 19-point margin to cut the deficit to 80-77 in the final seconds of the game, but Panathinaikos made the crucial shots from the foul line to go up 1-0. Dimos Dikoudis and Dimitris Diamantidis led Panathinaikos with 15 points apiece, while Kostas Tsartsaris and Ramunas Siskauskas added 11 and 10 points respectively. On the other side, Ender Arslan led Panionios with 21 points hitting 5-of-7 shots behind the arc, while Andre Hutson followed with 15 points and 12 boards and Vladislav Dragojlovic contributed 13 points plus 8 rebounds. Damir Miljkovic and Stratos Perperoglou added 12 and 10 points, respectively. The series now moves to Elliniko Indoor Hall Thursday for Game 2.
Terrell Castle guided Aris to an overtime win to open the semifinal series against Olympiacos with a 78-76 home victory. After a tight first half, which ended with hosts up 38-36, Aris built a 7-point lead only to see Olympiacos came up big and tie the game at 65-65. Simonas Serapinas sank his fifth three-pointer to make it 68-65 before Arvydas Macijauskas matched him from the downtown to force an overtime at 68-68. In the extra time, Castle and Scoonie Penn scored 4 points each as the scoreboard showed 76-76. Jeremiah Massey split a pair of free throws, but then Panagiotis Vassilopoulos missed a three-point shot and Castle sealed the victory by hitting another from the foul line. Castle finished with 21 points, Serapinas added 15 points on 5-of-7 three-point shooting and Massey contributed a typical double-double of 10 points and 13 boards. Christos Harissis led Olympiacos with a season-high 25 points. Penn posted 18 points, dished 4 assists and added 3 steals. The two teams will meet again on Thursday in Piraeus, while the third game will take place next Sunday in Thessaloniki.
GREEK LEAGUE: Semifinal Playoffs, best of 5 games |
| Record | Team | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | 1 | Panathinaikos (1) | 85 | May 24 | May 27 | May 30* | June 3* | 0 | Panionios Forthnet (4) | 77 | - | - | - | - | 1 | Aris TT Bank (2) | 78 | May 24 | May 27 | May 30* | June 2* | 0 | Olympiacos (3) | 76 | - | - | - | - |
Semifinal Playoffs Games | | Game 1 | Panathinaikos vs. Panionios Forthnet | 85-77 | May 20 | | Game 1 | Aris TT Bank vs. Olympiacos | 78-76 | May 20 | | Game 2 | Panionios Forthnet vs. Panathinaikos | - | May 24 | | Game 2 | Olympiacos vs. Aris TT Bank | - | May 24 | | Game 3 | Panathinaikos vs. Panionios Forthnet | - | May 27 | | Game 3 | Aris TT Bank vs. Olympiacos | - | May 27 | | Game 4 | Panionios Forthnet vs. Panathinaikos | - | May 30* | | Game 4 | Olympiacos vs. Aris TT Bank | - | May 30* | | Game 5 | Panathinaikos vs. Panionios Forthnet | - | June 3* | | Game 5 | Aris TT Bank vs. Olympiacos | - | June 2* |
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Sunday, May 20, 2007
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Kostas Sotiriou and Vassilis Skountis, Athens |
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