Panathinaikos – Olympiacos: Champions Nights

Panathinaikos equalized in the finals series, generally breaking Olympiacos’ unbeaten streak, celebrating – months later – a great victory in Oaka and now “lighter” and certainly without the pressure of defeat, which would otherwise mean the opponent’s title, in Game 3.

More than anything, PAO, objectively the worst quality team, has turned the Finals into champions days. In basketball, Olympiacos can compete. Or, if you prefer, … the Olympic half.

The obvious hero of the evening was Mateos Bonitka and the hidden Kalitzakis-Mantzoukas.

Pole, 17: 4 ” before the end of the match, he looked for the three-pointer and in front of Val hit his second shot from 6.75 meters. Pole isn’t a classic shooter, he doesn’t make a triple pointer average, but he made the decision and got OAKA back on his feet.

The two young men appeared out of nowhere to save their team while Olympiacos tried to escape. Kalaitzakis came out of the screens and with great audacity hit a three-pointer from above, reducing the difference to one point, while Fal made two hooks in a row in front of Papagiannis, freezing the burning (from the passion of the fans and sometimes smoked by many) the “green” rig.

And Mandzoukas (2:23 before the end) got a decisive offensive rebound, slamming the ball and giving PAO a four-point advantage. Earlier and although the lead had gone to +5 due to a goal error by Papanicolaou, he took advantage of Bonnetka’s pass and from the corner he shot for three counts, bringing down the handicap in one basket.

Somehow, after 18 months of continuous losing to Olympiacos, Panathinaikos once again found the joy of winning the Eternal Derby. But in addition to 14-0, another streak was broken, as the “red and white” have been winning continuously in Maroussi since December 6, 2019, when Panathinaikos won in overtime 94-91 with 41 points for Rice. Olympiacos has achieved six consecutive victories in the PAO headquarters.

Red Heroes (approx.)

Olympiacos, with the losses that occurred from the start (Sloukas has gastroenteritis, Black is absent due to his injury), or during the match (Walkab was sent off and Visenkov was injured) ran out of solutions and looked for their champions.

He found them in the person of Kostas Papanikolaou, who never left the floor, scored 15 points, had 7 assists, and put Olympiacos ahead by a three-pointer with a minute left while chasing Lee O’Grigonis and Bonitka for forty minutes. in defence.

McKissick played playmaker, wasn’t bad, had a great shot, but missed everything else he tried and especially that one at the end when he tried to beat the entire Panathinaikos defense with Ponitka taking first for him. hashtag.

It could also be (hero) Val, who put in a great performance in the second half, taking both Gudaitić and Papagianni, but in the final stage he couldn’t stop Ponitka enough to miss the three-pointer.

There is also a “spirit” finals

All this while the true champions of Olympiacos were sent off with a second technical penalty (the twists, the first being for an unsportsmanlike foul) early in the second half. Thomas Walkup did what he wanted in the first half, when he rallied a team that in the first ten minutes succumbed, almost unconditionally, to the reckless PAO.

He had scored 14 points, destroyed the home team’s defense by either hitting the threes he was given, passing with typical ease whatever he found in front of him, and reaching for easy passes.

His loss was double, if we consider that Slukas was also missing, so Olympiacos was without a purebred ace. Michalis Lountzis, who was called up to replace the American, came tense, unable to bear the weight and Partzokas went to the necessary solutions (Larentzakis, Makisik).

If you see the stage, you will agree that:

• Walkup actually takes two steps to fall to the ground, while he could have stayed standing, but there is a nudge from Papagiannis who has gone completely insane to make a stand, and falls onto Olympiakos American.
• The referee appears flopped, while a normal foul was preceded, imagining that the fall of the Olympiacos player was an intention to deceive him.

But let’s accept that there was indeed a flop. By playing, in the final, Tejanis was supposed to get into the “spirit” of the match, which often “guides” the decisions of the referees. Even if he is absolutely right It would be better to give Walkup a “get up and play” to warn him of the next stage, than to send the player to the locker room, having already handed him a technical penalty…

Vizhenkov’s absence

The injury of Vyzenkov came to “restrain” a series of absences that put Olympiacos in a difficult position. If, of course, Bartzokas had known all this before the start of qualifying, he would not have left Kanaan out of the cycle. But after that, Makissik, Larentzakis and Black played well 100% of its potential.

The Bulgarian international’s injury is definitely a key point from now on. It also depends on how long Vysenkov will be out, because next Thursday there will definitely be a fourth match. Bone swelling based on experience needs rest and avoid stress.

The return of Slukas and Walkap obviously boosts Olympiacos, who fought as we said heroically to make it 2-0, but Panathinaikos, having already drawn, will find themselves in Irini and Philias with the feeling that they are not completely lost in prospect. 2-1 and he will play for the first time without the pressure of his every movement on the field.

Note: I partly disagree with the view that the finals have regained their “air”. Yes, they found it again, but not as it should be, but as we have been accustomed to for many years, doing general anesthesia. With the fandom, the bigotry, the stuff, the expletives, the smoke bombs and the expletives, yeah…the atmosphere is back…

And because as the matches progress, the intensity will increase, there is no need to get into extreme situations that we almost forgot about. Unless everything about arch rivals in this country is full of vulgarity…