Playoffs begin in volleyball
The regular season in the volleyball league is over and the playoffs to determine the new champion begin today, with the best-of-five semifinals pitting league leader Panathinaikos against fourth-placed PAOK in Athens and runner-up Olympiakos against third-placed Iraklis in Piraeus. Panathinaikos finished top after 22 rounds with 63 points, eight ahead of Olympiakos, after beating the Piraeus club 3-1 away on Saturday. Iraklis followed with 49 points and PAOK had 40. The teams will play each other every three days until one of them reaches three wins to qualify for the championship final. The playoffs for positions 5-8 and the playouts to avoid relegation (positions 9-11) begin tomorrow. Pangrati finished 12th and has already been relegated, to be followed by one more team to finish last in the playouts.
