Greek League Finals, Game 3: June 13, 2007 In one of the most thrilling games ever played in the Greek League, Panathinaikos edged Olympiacos at home 86-85 in overtime to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five final series. Now the Greens have two "match balls" to defend their title, the first next Sunday at Peace and Friendship Stadium, and the second, if needed, next Wednesday in OAKA. Mike Batiste posted another double-double of 22 points and 11 boards, with 7 for 11 two-point shots, 1 for 1 three-point shot, 5 for 5 free throws. Kostas Tsartsaris and Dejan Tomasevic bagged 15 points apiece, while Dimitris Diamantidis scored added 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Diamantidis was the hero after a block that forced OT and the game-winning shot in the extra period. For Olympiacos Scoonie Penn bagged 20 points and dished 4 assists. Giannis Bouroussis had 15 points, including impressive 4-for-5 three-point shooting, while Arvydas Macijauskas added 14 points and Panagiotis Vassilopoulos 11. A three-pointer by Bouroussis gave Olympiacos an eadly 17-20 lead, but from that point forward, Panathinaikos found its spirit and made a 15-0 run in 5 minutes for a 12-point margin, 32-20. Despite their very low percentage from the foul line, 13 for 27 by the end of the night, the Reds managed to come back and follow Macijauskas on a 2-16 run, good enough to regain the lead, 34-36. At the end of the first half Olympiacos was ahead by a basket, 40-42. The third period proved a thriller as both teams fought to take the upper hand, but the Reds refused to allow Panathinaikos to play its game and retained a 60-63 lead after 30 minutes. Macijauskas hit a big triple in the fourth quarter to increase the gap to 63-69, but Panathinaikos came back with a 14-4 run to lead again, 77-73. Alex Acker scored from the arc for 77-76 and then stole the ball from Siskauskas and tried to dunk. But with 20 seconds to go, Diamantidis made an outstanding block and denied the basket. Becirovic then scored 1 of 2 free throws to make it 78-76, but Penn was fouled by Diamantidis, made 2 for 2 from the foul line and forced overtime. With 55 seconds to go in the overtime Henry Domercant put Olympiacos ahead, 81-84, but Batiste made a big three-pointer to tie the game, 84-84. Penn scored 1 of 2 free throws for an 84-85 edge by Olympiacos, but then Diamantidis appeared once again like the Nemesis: he grabbed the offensive board after a missed three-point shot from Tsartsaris and made the play of the game, to seal the 86-85 victory of his team. Meanwhile, in the series to decide third place, Aris beat Panionios 65-57 at home in Thessaloniki to take a 2-1 lead in that best-of-five series, whose winner goes to next season's Euroleague. The visitors played without their main point guards, Ender Arslan and Panagiotis Kafkis, and as such did not manage to stay competitive for much of the game. Aris took advantage of that to built a double-digit lead, 53-40, at the end of the third quarter. Alex Scales scored 15 points, while Terrell Castle had 13 points and Dimitris Tsaldaris added 10 points for the winners. For Panionios, Kennedy Winston bagged 21 points and Andre Hutson added 18. GREEK LEAGUE: Final Playoffs, best of 5 games Record Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 2 Panathinaikos (1) - Final 79 72 86 June 17 June 20* 1 Olympiacos (3) - Final 72 76 85 - - 2 Aris TT Bank (2) - 3rd place 84 62 65 June 16 June 19* 1 Panionios Forthnet (4) - 3rd place 82 74 57 - - Final Playoffs Games Game 1 Aris TT Bank vs. Panionios Forthnet - 3rd place 84-82 June 5 Game 1 Panathinaikos vs. Olympiacos - Final 79-72 June 6 Game 2 Panionios Forthnet vs. Aris TT Bank - 3rd place 74-62 June 9 Game 2 Olympiacos vs. Panathinaikos - Final 76-72 June 10 Game 3 Aris TT Bank vs. Panionios Forthnet - 3rd place 65-57 June 12 Game 3 Panathinaikos vs. Olympiacos - Final 86-85 June 13 Game 4 Panionios Forthnet vs. Aris TT Bank - 3rd place - June 16 Game 4 Olympiacos vs. Panathinaikos - Final - June 17 Game 5 Aris TT Bank vs. Panionios Forthnet - 3rd place - June 19* Game 5 Panathinaikos vs. Olympiacos - Final - June 20* Wednesday, June 13, 2007 Vassilis Skountis, Athens