One more water polo cup turns Red
Olympiakos secured yet another Greek Cup in men’s water polo on Saturday, beating Panionios 7-6 in an ever-so-tight final in Ermoupoli on Syros. This was the Reds’ fifth consecutive cup and their 13th overall, a record number in Greece, as the cup is one of the hardest to claim. Olympiakos required extra time to beat a spirited Panionios, as regulation time ended 5-5 following a 4-2 lead by Olympiakos. Panionios led 6-5 through an extra-time penalty but the Reds came back to beat their rivals with a Thodoris Hatzitheodorou goal 8 seconds from time, averting a penalty shootout. Yet Panionios had major complaints about the referees’ decisions. In the women’s league finals, European champion Vouliagmeni took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series through victories over Olympiakos on the weekend. On Friday, the title challenger beat the Greek champion 8-6 in Piraeus and on Sunday it made the score 2-0 in the finals with a 13-11 home win that takes Vouliagmeni to within one victory of the championship crown. Game 3 of the series is scheduled to be played tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. in Piraeus.
