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Greek League Finals, Game 4: June 17, 2007 |
The Greek League finals are going to a title-deciding fifth game after Olympiacos held court at home in Pireaus with a solid 78-68 victory over Euroleague champion Panathinaikos on Sunday. The victory let the Reds tie the series 2-2, with Game 5 scheduled for Wednesday night at OAKA arena, home of Panathinaikos, which needed overtime there to escape with victory in Game 3. This time, Panathinaikos controlled the game until halftime, after which it was all Olympiacos. Scoonie Penn and Panagiotis Vasilopoulos led the winners with 17 points each, while Giannis Bourousis added 10. For Panathinaikos, Sani Becirovic scored 17, while Ramunas Siskauskas had 11 and Dimitris Diamantidis 10. Panathinaikos committed 18 turnovers and was limited to just 8 points in the third quarter, in which Olympiacos got a safe lead that the Reds kept all the way in the second half. In the third place playoff, Panionios beat Aris 92-88 in overtime to tie the series at 2-2.
Alex Acker and Penn helped Olympiacos to get a 14-9 lead early in the game, but an outstanding Diamantidis and free throws by Siskauskas helped Panathinaikos to regain the lead, 19-20, after 10 minutes. Back-to-back triples by Becirovic and 4 quick points by Dejan Tomasevic allowed the Greens to get a 25-32 edge. Olympiacos cut its deficit to 41-44 at halftime and returned to the floor with a better, improved defensive attitude. The Reds only allowed 8 points in the next 10 minutes, in what happened to be the key of the game. A three-pointer by Siskauskas gave Panathinaikos its last lead, 49-50. Olympiacos used a 9-0 run that Henry Domercant capped with an acrobatic layup to get a 58-50 edge, while free throws by Penn kept the Reds in charge, 60-52, after 30 minutes. Panathinaikos trailed all the way since that moment but managed to get within 74-68, but Vasilopoulos and Macijauskas helped the Reds to seal the outcome and force Game 5.
Panionios stayed alive in the third-place race by downing Aris 92-88 in overtime on Saturday. Series is tied at 2-2 but Aris hosts Game 5 this Wednesday in a do-or-die game to finish third overall. Stratos Perperoglou and Andre Hutson led the winners each with 24 points. Ender Arslan added 16 while Dragan Dojcin had 13 for Panionios. Alex Scales and Dimitri Tsaldaris each had 22 points for Aris, Jeremiah Massey added 14 while Mike Wilkinson got 11 for the guests. Aris led 62-73 with under 3 minutes to go in regulation, but a 15-4 run that Arslan capped with a triple tied it at 77-77 with 25 seconds to go. Terrell Castle missed the series-winning shot at the end of regulation. Once in overtime, a three-pointer by Perperoglou gave Panionios a 89-85 lead and the guests never recovered.
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 | 68 | June 20 | 2 | Olympiacos (3) - Final | 72 | 76 | 85 | 78 | - | 2 | Aris TT Bank (2) - 3rd place | 84 | 62 | 65 | 88 | June 19 | 2 | Panionios Forthnet (4) - 3rd place | 82 | 74 | 57 | 92 | - |
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 | 92-88 | June 16 | | Game 4 | Olympiacos vs. Panathinaikos - Final | 78-68 | June 17 | | Game 5 | Aris TT Bank vs. Panionios Forthnet - 3rd place | - | June 19 | | Game 5 | Panathinaikos vs. Olympiacos - Final | - | June 20 |
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Sunday, June 17, 2007
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Euroleague.net |
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