By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos Piraeus are through to the Greek Basket League Playoffs semifinals after taking down AEK in Athens.
Georgios Bartzokas’ side advances after a dominant 68-100 Game 2 win behind closed doors at the Olympic Hall of Ano Liosia due to sanctions on the home team.
Nikola Milutinov led the winning side with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Isaiah Canaan and Alec Peters added 16 points each. The US forward grabbed nine rebounds. Elijah Mitrou-Long followed with 14 points.
Nigel Williams-Goss, due to stomach problems, and Shaquille McKissick, who was suffering from a virus, were out of the Olympiacos squad. Ignas Brazdeikis, Moses Wright, and Luke Sikma did not have the right to participate in the Basket League.
On the other side, Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Jordan McRae scored 12 points each, while Dimitris Agravanis added 10 in the last game of the season for AEK Athens.
Olympiacos will now switch focus to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin, where they will face Real Madrid in the semifinals (24/02). In the Greek League semifinals, they will meet Peristeri or Kolossos Rhodes.
Panathinaikos Joins Semifinals After OT
While Olympiacos dominated AEK in Athens, Panathinaikos had a much tougher task in Thessaloniki, but Ergin Ataman’s side prevailed over PAOK 96-99 in overtime.
Mathias Lessort blocked Kevin Porter Jr. to force OT, and Kendrick Nunn took over in the added five minutes, with Jerian Grant making a key steal in the dying moments to stop PAOK from trying to tie the score and force another overtime. It’s worth adding that PAO’s head coach, Ergin Ataman, got ejected with two technicals.
Nunn was PAO’s top scorer with 25 points, but Jerian Grant was the MVP of the winning team with 19 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds for a PIR of 34. Lessort added 15 points and seven boards, while Dinos Mitoglou contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.
Porter Jr. shined for the hosts with a triple-double of 23 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists, and a PIR of 32 in his last game of the season since PAOK is out of the Playoffs. Elvar Fridriksson had 25 points, while Justin Alston reached a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Michal Michalak added 16 points with six boards for the losing side.
Panathinaikos will now focus on facing Fenerbahce in the Turkish Airlines Final Four in Berlin (24/06). After that, they’ll face Promitheas or Aris in the domestic semifinals.
Basket League Quarterfinals (best-of-three)
Panathinaikos – PAOK 2-0 (84-66, 99-96 OT)
Promitheas – Aris 1-0 (79-60, 20/05)
Olympiacos – AEK 2-0 (92-75, 100-68)
Peristeri – Kolossos 1-0 (79-64, 19/05)