Final Four, Panathinaikos – Olympiakos 73-81: The Greek Cup went red and white again after 11 years

After eleven years, Olympiacos sat back on the throne of the Greek Cup winners. George Bartzokas’ team bested Panathinaikos OPAP (81-73) in the final of the Final Four in “Dyo Aorakia” to claim the trophy for the first time since 2011. The Red-Whites came back thanks to their defense and bench from -12 in the 25th minute and -9 in the 30th.

Thomas Wookup and Sakil McKissick came down to rest key players (see Costas Sloukas and Costas Papanikolaou) and brought the ups and downs which was the main reason for Olympiacos’ fall and victory.

Panathinaikos OPAP, on the other hand, remained with power and options in the latter part of the final. The seven and a half minutes without a point was the catalyst for the flow and outcome of the game that saw the shamrock’s great effort go awry over three periods.

This is the 10th Greek Cup for Olympiacos, who have returned after 11 years of waiting for the throne, but also their first title after a six-year losing streak – the last Red and White Cup in 2015/16 in the Stoiximan Basket League.

The MVP

Tyler Dorsey had 21 points with 7/13 shots, Sasha Vezenkov finished with a double-double (18 points, 13 rebounds in 37’06”), but the one who made the difference in the fourth quarter was Thomas Wokap. Filling the “Two Aorakia” with his energy, the guard of Olympiakos hid the basket and made the difference for his team, creating the conditions for the fall and victory thanks to his defense.

The weak link

Panathinaikos OPAP took over Stefan Jovic about a month ago to help him through the Final Four. However, his performance fell short of expectations in the green camp, remaining at “zero” in both the semifinals and the final. In the derby with Olympiakos he had 0/2 three points, 1 rebound and 1 assist at 16’56” staying on the ground.

The stat that stood out

For three seasons, Panathinaikos OPAP’s attack was outstanding, hitting Olympiakos’ defense in a variety of ways, with different protagonists at distances. In the latter, however, Dimitris Priftis’ players saw the basket shrink too much and went without a point for almost seven and a half minutes. The greens only scored from the line in the fourth third, with 0/5 two points, 0/10 three points and 6/8 strokes, plus 4 errors.

The race

Panathinaikos OPAP started the final better than any other match this year. It was found very quickly at +7 (7-0 in 3′) but before a good minute and a half had elapsed after George Bartzokas’ time-out, Olympiacos returned. Mainly because he made sure Tyler Dorsey scored consistently from the periphery while Nemanja Nedovic found his rhythm at the other end. The lead changed hands several times until the final of the first period, which ended at +4 (17-21) for the Red-Whites, despite having two points at 4/13.

For five minutes, the second had a bad rhythm, with several fouls and many hasty decisions by players from both teams. A case in point is Daryl Makon, who failed to provide solutions for Dimitris Priftis to be Nemanja Nedovic’s alter ego. Not that Olympiacos found a player off the bench in the second rotation to make a difference. Sasha Vezenkov was the one who kept him ahead until the 16th minute (29-31) before Panathinaikos OPAP started the good four minutes.

Capitalizing on the typical home team’s wear and tear on fouls, the Clover put down all shots (11/11 first half) and ended the first half with a +6 (45-39) buzzer-beater from Daryl Macon. a difference largely owed to Nemanja Nedovic’s magical night, who had 19 points by half-time with 1/3 two points, 4/8 three points and 5/5 shots on target.

In the third ten minutes, Dimitris Priftis decided to trust the good momentum Daryl Macon was building at the end of the second period and was entitled. The Panathinaikos OPAP guard took the ball out of Nemanja Nedovic’s hands (he was getting tired) and damaged the red-white defence. To such an extent that the game didn’t take long to open. In the 25th minute of the final, the clover reached +12 (59:47) and finally transferred the pressure to the other side.

Olympiakos lacked rhythm in defence, which was reflected in him ending the third period with just one team foul. So, no matter how hard Tyler Dorsey and Mustafa Fal fought, things weren’t easy. The third quarter ended at +9 (67:58) for the cloverleaves, who, however, did not receive a point from Nemanja Nedovic in the tenth minute.

What Olympiacos needed to win was help from the bench. That’s how she had it in the fourth quarter. With Thomas Wookup and Shaquille McKissick doing a great job on defence, the Reds and Whites kept the greens close for seven minutes. Result; The game came to a head and Olympiakos of -9 was +6 (67-73) in the 37th minute of the final, with Giorgos Bartzokas’ team tallying up fifteen (15) unanswered points until Okaro White scored 2/2 shots on 2’37” for the final.

But now the momentum had finally switched camp. Olympiacos had no problem staying in front thanks to their defense which allowed Panathinaikos OPAP to score only from the line.

Somehow the Red-Whites stayed ahead until the final and won the Greek Cup for the 10th time in their history.

THE REFEREES: Foufis – Koromilas – Tsaroucha.

THE TEN MINUTES: 17-21, 45-39, 67-58, 73-81.

PANATHINAIKUS OPAP (Priftis): Meikon 10 (2/5 two points, 2/6 three points, 0/2 shots), Papagiannis 10 (5/5 two points, 12 rebounds), Bohoridis 2, Kaselakis 4, White 15 (3/6 two points, 1/3 threes, 6/6 shots, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), Jovic, Nedovic 23 (1/6 twos, 4/15 threes, 9/9 shots, 5 assists), Evans 6, Sandross 3 ( 1).

OLYMPIC (Bartzokas): Wookup 8 (1 three points, 4 assists), Dorsey 21 (4/7 two points, 3/6 three points, 4/4 shots, 3 rebounds), Fal 7 (6 rebounds), Sloukas 10 (1 three points, 5 assists), Martin 4, Vezenkov 18 (4/9 two points, 2/5 three points, 4/7 shots, 13 rebounds), Printezis, Papanikolaou 2, Jean Charles 2, McKissick 9 (4 assists).

Team Stats – Panathinaikos OPAP: 16/28 two points, 8/31 three points, 17/19 shots, 29 rebounds (20 defensive + 9 offensive), 15 assists, 5 steals, 8 errors, 2 blocks.

Team Stats – Olympiacos: 22/40 two points, 7/22 three points, 16/22 shots, 36 rebounds (24 defensive + 12 offensive), 21 assists, 10 errors, 4 steals, 2 blocks.