[Intime]
Olympiakos edged out archrival Panathinaikos 76-74 in the all-Greek derby of the Euroleague on Friday in Piraeus and has all but confirmed its finishing in the top two in the regular season.
The hosts very nearly blew a 19-point lead, as the title holders got the chance to win the match with a last-ditch effort that would have completed Panathinaikos’ unlikely comeback.
The Reds actually made their rebound supremacy (35-26) count, given the problems Panathinaikos has had in the last few months in its frontline due to injuries. Especially the offensive rebounds (12-6) made the difference in the number of possessions the Reds enjoyed.
Olympiakos built its lead in the first quarter, when it overturned a 6-3 deficit with 15 unanswered points that saw it advance by 12 (18-6).
The hosts maintained that advantage and improved it further in the third quarter, stretching it to 19 (58-39).
At that point the Greens started fighting back. First they recorded a run of nine points to cut their deficit to 58-48. The distance was slashed to seven with three minutes to go (74-67) and to two (76-74) with 30 seconds left, thanks to Kendrick Nunn and Dinos Mitoglou. However the last shot by Kostas Sloukas missed the target and Olympiakos narrowly held on to victory in the end.
Sasha Vezenkov paced the winners with 18 points, the same as Mitoglou’s tally for Panathinaikos.
The Reds remain the runaway leaders of the Euroleague with a 22-7 record, while Panathinaikos stays third with 18 wins in 29 games, i.e. with five matches left to play till the end of the regular season.