By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Five extremely potent minutes by Olympiacos on both ends of court and a brilliant Vassilis Spanoulis (22 points) were enough for the reigning champions against Panathinaikos. The Reds beat their arch-rivals 77 – 72 making the 2-1 in the Final series and now need only one win for the repeat.
The captain of Olympiacos scored 10 of his points in the last 5 minutes of the match, to lead his team comeback from a minus seven deficit. The 59 – 66 was transformed into 71 – 66 with less than two minutes to go, and the hosts never looked back until the end.
For Panathinaikos James Feldeine finished the match with 17 points, while Nick Calathes added 15.
Contrary to the first game in “Peace and Friendship” arena, Olympiacos was the one to enter more focused on both ends of court, with well targeted offensive plays, particularly at the low post. But the entrance of Diamantidis from enabled Panathinaikos to make a 0- 10 run and significantly improve their offense, good enough to finish the period 17 – 21 in front of the score.
Back to back baskets by Matt Lojeski put his team ahead and then through transition points and fast paced attacks, Olympiacos made it 32 – 26. Panathinaikos remained close however, patiently chewing the deficit and regaining the lead with consecutive threes by Feldeine that made it 39 – 40, two minutes before the end of the first half. The only thing that the Reds could do was reduce the margin to 41 – 44.
Both teams refused to miss any basket for the first five minutes of the third quarter. While Olympiacos tied the game, Panathinaikos managed to once again retake the lead by behaving very smart on offense, taking advantage of all mismatches and gaps in the opposing defense. Meanwhile the Reds struggled to score, since the guests denied them good passes inside the paint.
The fourth quarter began with the score 57 – 62 and the two rivals facing difficulties in scoring. That favored Panathinaikos that kept control, making it 59 – 66 with six minutes to go. But that was the moment when Spanoulis’ show began and the rest was history.