Reds beat Greens by six to gain confidence
Olympiakos won the first league derby with Panathinaikos to get on top of the Basket League on Saturday evening, which also saw several other very close games.
The Reds beat the Greens 81-75 in a very entertaining game at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus that witnessed Vassilis Spanoulis break the jinx against his former club and score 20 points against Panathinaikos for the first time in 17 games between the country’s two giants.
A few days before the start of the top-16 of the Euroleague, the two teams showed in good shape in a game that may determine very little for the course of the championship, but has certainly added to the confidence of Olympiakos and its new coach, Yiannis Sfairopoulos.
Panathinaikos coach Dusko Ivanovic attributed defeat to his side’s poor third quarter, during which Olympiakos scored 22 points against Panathinaikos’s 17.
Third-placed AGO Rethymnou suffered a reverse at rejuvenated AEK with an 85-77 score on Sunday, while Aris thrashed visiting Trikala 91-60 with 24 points from 19-year-old Aleksandar Vezenkov – 22 of which came in the first half.
PAOK emerged victorious from a tough game at Kolossos Rhodes with a 69-67 result, and Apollon Patras needed overtime to beat neighboring Korivos Amaliadas 77-72 in a tense derby.
KAO Dramas produced the upset of the weekend as it defeated high-flying Nea Kifissia 79-78 away. Panionios took a leap toward safety with its 70-68 victory at Panelefsiniakos.
