By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos and Panathinaikos started the Greek Playoffs on the right foot.
The Piraeus team convincingly defeated Panionios 106-67 to take a 1-0 lead in the Quarterfinal series.
Interestingly, Panionios were leading after the first 20 minutes, but Georgios Bartzokas’ side took control in the third quarter, winning the second half 64-22 and securing a dominant victory despite first-half struggles.
Sasha Vezenkov led the way with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Tyler Dorsey and Saben Lee scored 20 points each. Alec Peters followed with 17 points and seven rebounds.
For the losing team, Devin Davis had 14 points and nine rebounds, Giorgios Tsalbouris added 12, and Landry Nnoko was on the verge of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Panathinaikos was also convincing in the end, as the top-seeded team and defending champions took down Peristeri 88-68 at OAKA Arena to take a 1-0 lead as well.
Ergin Ataman’s side took control in the second period, but Peristeri fought back in the third, trimming the deficit to 58-57. However, Panathinaikos responded with an 8-0 run to close the quarter. After that, they didn’t look back, increasing the lead to 81-59 and quickly putting the game to bed.
Dinos Mitoglou led the winning side with 18 points, Cedi Osman followed with 15, while Juancho Hernangomez added 13 points. Kostas Sloukas scored nine with six assists.
For Peristeri, George Papas had 18 points, CJ Harris followed with 15, while Christopher Coffey recorded a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds