Victory at the SEF gives Olympiacos the edge in the Finals
Olympiacos secured an 82-76 victory over Panathinaikos in Game 1 of the Stoiximan GBL Finals, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
Evan Fournier with 20 points and Sasha Vezenkov with 16 led the way for our team, while Nikola Milutinov was the MVP according to PIR, finishing with an impressive double-double (10 points and 12 rebounds).
Giorgios Bartzokas started the game with Walkup, Fournier, Papanikolaou, Vezenkov, and Milutinov in the lineup. Both Olympiacos and Panathinaikos struggled to find rhythm in the opening stages of the first final, as poor shooting and physical defense dominated the game early on. In the first six minutes, a total of only 15 points had been scored (7-8), with Osman contributing five points for the visitors and Vezenkov adding four for the European champions.
After the first TV timeout, Olympiacos knocked down back-to-back threes with Vezenkov and Fournier, helping the game gain momentum. Then, with an unbelievable buzzer-beating three-pointer from midcourt by Kostas Papanikolaou, the Red & Whites reached their biggest lead of the quarter as it ended 21-17.
In the second quarter, the introduction of Joseph and Ward provided a boost for Olympiacos. Despite struggling from the long range through 15' (4/14 from the 3-point arc during that stretch), our team managed to build a double-digit lead at 35-24. Although Bartzokas’ team extended its advantage to as many as 14 points with two minutes remaining in the first half, continued perimeter shooting struggles meant that strong defense and dominance in the paint were the key factors behind their 42-30 halftime lead.
At that stage, Vezenkov and Fournier were the only players in double figures, each scoring 10 points, while Milutinov was outstanding with 6 points and 8 rebounds.
Olympiacos opened the second half with a 7-2 run, stretching the lead to 17 points (49-32). However, a series of turnovers allowed the visitors to cut the deficit back to 12. At that point, Evan Fournier took control, scoring consecutive baskets to restore a comfortable margin for the Red & Whites. Panathinaikos responded once again, though, hitting four straight three-pointers to reduce the gap to 6p. (59-53) by 28'.
Led by Dinos Mitoglou, who scored 12 points on 4 three-pointers, the visitors managed to close the gap even further by the end of the quarter, trailing by just four points, 62-58.
Olympiacos began the final stretch not only struggling offensively but also committing a series of costly turnovers, allowing their eternal rivals to pull within a single point (64-63) with just 84 seconds on the clock. Panathinaikos eventually took the lead, prompting Bartzokas to deploy a lineup featuring three forwards, Ward, Peters, and Vezenkov, as Olympiacos looked to attack through the paint.
At the other end, Panathinaikos remained extremely accurate from beyond the arc throughout the fourth quarter. With the exception of Hayes-Davis (0/6 from three-point range), all other players coached by Ergin Ataman had combined for 12/21 three-pointers by 37'.
The final 5 minutes developed into a thriller, but Olympiacos showed greater composure. With key executions from Fournier, Vezenkov, and Jones, our team closed out the game and secured the 82-76 victory.
The two teams will meet again at OAKA on Friday at 20:00 CET.
The quarters: 21-17, 42-30, 62-58, 82-76.
