Panathinaikos took the lead in qualifying for the Challenge Cup finals. The Greens, who had a Kovar space, prevailed 3-1 against Olympiakos in Melina Merkouris.

How to qualify: The second meeting between the two teams will take place next Wednesday (February 15, 7:00 p.m.) at the Agios Thomas Stadium. There, Panathinaikos qualifies with a win on any points, while they qualify with a 2-3 loss.

On the other hand, Olympiacos essentially want four sets. He needs to win 3-0 or 3-1 and then take the golden set to advance against the Greens.

The match: With Hernandez absent, Panathinaikos lined up with three wingers, with Kovar playing a diagonal role. Olympiacos tried to press with the serve from the start but made many mistakes.

The greens hit +2 mid-set with an ace from Petraea (15-17), but the set changed immediately after a Hidalgo block on Kovar.

From that point Olympiacos ran sideways 9-2, resulting in a 24-19 lead. Then Panathinaikos reduced, but Stern finished the set with a blockout (25-21)

In the second set, Olympiakos was the one who came into play more powerfully and held the lead for the longest time. The red-whites took a 16-14 lead and that’s where the turning point came.

Sander mastered the set and then Kovar intervened. The Panathinaikos winger made it 19-19 with an attack, followed by three aces and another point from an attack to make it 19-18, 19-24. The Greens finally finished the set 25:21.

In the third set we had a fight with a lot of reversals. Olympiacos took the lead more often but Panathinaikos didn’t let them get away and that played a crucial role.

In the final, Andreopoulos’ players managed to finish difficult balls and in the final they celebrated 1:2 in sets 25:23. In the last phase, Sander made the attack, the ball found the block, the referees gave up. Olympiacos requested a video challenge with the referees’ initial decision.

In the fourth set we lost a lot of balls again. Olympiacos put on a strong performance and took a 10-6 lead. Panathinaikos turned the tables on Petraas’ serves and took a 14-11 lead.

The Red-Whites got the difference, but again the Greens got away with three points (16-19). Olympiacos equalized the set and everything was decided in the final as the two teams battled it out point by point.

There Jiri Kovar was the fulcrum again, finishing terribly difficult balls and finishing the set and the match 26-24.

Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 1-3

The sentences: 25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 24-26

*Olympiakos points come from 5 aces, 49 attacks, 8 blocks and 31 enemy errors and Panathinaikos points come from 9 aces, 53 attacks, 9 blocks and 26 enemy errors.

OLYMPIACOS SFP (Alberto Giuliani): Pagenk 9 (Ref. 5/11, 2 aces, 2 blocks), Star 25 (Ref. 23/38, 2 blocks), Gustavao 5 (Ref. 2/6, 3 blocks), Koumendakis 11 (Ref. 10/20 . ) (l, 67% sub. – 40% excellent), Dalakouras, Linardos.

PANATHINAIKOS AO (Dimitris Andreopoulos): Kovar 26 (19/36 ff., 5 aces, 2 blocks, 50% substantive – 41% excellent), Sander 16 (15/26 ff., 1 ace, 56% substantive – 56% excellent), Petraeus 9 ( 4/9 fr., 3 aces, 2 blocks), Jacobsen 3 (2/2 fr., 1 block), Rangel 6 (3/6 fr., 3 blocks), Frankos 11 (10/27 fr., 1 block , 41% sub. – 32% excellent) / Zisis (l, 37% sub. – 16% excellent), base.