By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Peristeri gave hell to Panathinaikos in the Greek Basket League semifinal series but couldn’t pair with the Greens in the decisive Game 5, as Christos Serelis’ team won convincingly in OAKA to advance to the final, 81-67.
Panathinaikos will fight for the title against Olympiacos, in its 20th consecutive season in the final. The start of the championship series will take place next Sunday (4/6) at Peace and Friendship Stadium since Olympiacos has the home advantage.
Marius Grigonis led the winning side with 16 points, while Dimitrios Agravanis also had a big impact with 15. Arturas Gudaitis added 13 points, and Mateusz Ponitka scored 13 with eight rebounds.
Sylvain Francisco stood out for Vasilis Spanoulis’ side, scoring 16 points with seven assists. Miro Bilan added 12 with eight boards, as Matt Coleman finished with 10 points in less than 18 minutes.
The first half was pretty even, as Peristeri trimmed the 12-point deficit to just two in the second quarter. The third period was the key, as PAO responded and grabbed a 64-48 lead entering the final 10 minutes, with Agravanis scoring 13 points.
Greek Basket League, semifinals:
(2) Panathinaikos – (3) Peristeri 3-2
Game 1: Panathinaikos – Peristeri 101-57
Game 2: Peristeri – Panathinaikos 73-58
Game 3: Panathinaikos – Peristeri 89-80
Game 4: Peristeri – Panathinaikos 76-71
Game 5 : Panathinaikos – Peristeri 81-67
FINAL (best-of-five)
(1) OLYMPIACOS – (2) PANATHINAIKOS
Game 1 : Olympiacos – Panathinaikos Sunday 4/6 20:15 CET
Game 2 : Panathinaikos – Olympiakos Thursday 8/6 20:15 CET
Game 3 : Olympiacos – Panathinaikos Sunday 11/6 20:15 CET
Game 4* : Panathinaikos – Olympiacos Thursday 15/6 20:15 CET
Game 5* : Olympiacos – Panathinaikos Sunday 18/6 20:15 CET
* If necessary