Title series reaches the limit

Olympiakos beats Panathinaikos 78-68 to tie best-of-five final at 2-2 and prompt fifth decider

Dominant in the second half of play, Olympiakos broke away for a 10-point victory last night over visiting Panathinaikos to level their best-of-five title series at 2-2. The finalists now go into a fifth and deciding game for this season’s Greek basketball league title on Thursday at Panathinaikos’s home stadium, the OAKA.

Seemingly unperturbed by Olympiakos’s fiery home crowd at the Peace and Friendship Stadium, Panathinaikos opened last night’s game looking keen for victory and the title. The visitor led 20-19 at the end of the first period and 44-41 at half time.

Panathinaikos threatened to break away in the second period with a series of three-pointers for a 28-22 lead that was narrowed and then reestablished at 38-31.

But Olympiakos, drastically improved in defense and more effective in the rebound department, gradually took command following the break to establish a promising 60-52 lead at the end of the third period that led to a convincing 78-68 victory.

Playmaker James Scoonie Penn, Olympiakos’s second-highest scorer last night with 15 points, played a pivotal role in Olympiakos’s impressive third period.

Panathinaikos was weighed down by a subdued performances from star playmaker Dimitris Diamantidis.

Center Yiannis Bourousis dominated in the air to give Olympiakos the edge over defending champion Panathinaikos, which went into this series just weeks after being crowned European champion for the fourth time in the club’s history.

Panathinaikos, looking to make it a perfect season, also won the Greek Cup earlier this season.