By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
In the opener of the Stoiximan Basket League Playoffs, Olympiacos dismantled AEK Betsson in the second half en route to a 92-75 victory in the Peace and Friendship Stadium.
Nikola Milutinov combining 18 points with eight rebounds was the key player for the team coached by Giorgos Bartzokas in Game 1 of a best-of-three series on Wednesday. Alec Peters followed with 16 points for the reigning league and cup champions in Greece. Besides Filip Petrusev on the injury list, Thomas Walkup was rested and Giannoulis Larentzakis did not play. Unregistered Moses Wright, Ignas Brazdeikis, and Luke Sikma sat out as well.
Well-rested AEK, nearly three weeks after the last team outing, jumped to an eight-point lead early in the second quarter and edged out the first half, 42-41. The second half was a different story with the Reds taking over and quickly building a safe advantage.
Most of the attention of the SEF crowd was on Dimitris Agravanis. The former Olympiacos forward finished with 15 points, signaling to the fans in attendance after most of his buckets. Lithuanian Mindaugas Kuzminskas scored a game-high 24 points.
Game 2 will be played behind closed doors in Ano Liosia Olympic Hall on Saturday.
Basket League Playoffs
Quarterfinals (best-of-three)
A – Panathinaikos Aktor – PAOK mateco 0-0
B – Promitheas – Aris Midea 0-0
C – Olympiacos – AEK Betsson 1-0 (92-75)
D – Peristeri bwin – Kolossos H Hotels 0-0
Semifinals (best-of-three)
Winners A-B
Winners C-D
Third-place (single game)
Losers of Semifinals
Finals (best-of-five)
Winners of Semifinals