By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos reclaimed the throne, ending Olympiacos‘ three-year reign in the Greek Cup.
Ergin Ataman’s side dethroned their arch-rival from Piraeus with a 79-75 victory in the final in Heraklion, securing their 21st cup title in club history and further improving their record in the competition.
Led by Kostas Sloukas, Panathinaikos sealed the win with an 8-0 run in the final two minutes, putting an end to their eternal rival’s streak of three consecutive Greek Cup triumphs.
However, as coach Ergin Ataman admitted the big goal of the Greens remains a back-to-back EuroLeague title: “We got revenge for last year, I will give the cup to owner, mr Giannakopoulos, and we will continue for our main goals, the championship and the EuroLeague. We are happy for the win, it’s important to win a big opponent, specially for our fans. That’s why tonight we will celebrate and from next week we will woek for our big goal, winning the EuroLeague again”.
Sloukas the MVP
Sloukas claimed the MVP honors with 17 points and five assists for a team-high PIR of 23, with Kendrick Nunn adding 17 points and five rebounds. Juancho Hernangomez recorded a mighty double-double with 11 points and 17 rebounds, while Jerian Grant followed with 10 points.
Sasha Vezenkov scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Olympiacos, while Evan Fournier contributed 11 points.
Moustapha Fall posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Nigel Williams-Goss added 10 points and six assists.