-- Not Spanoulis, Not Printezis...Papapetrou! --
EUROLEAGUE - REGULAR SEASON (ROUND 16)
| Olympiacos | 77 - 69 | Panathinaikos |
|---|---|---|
| (17 - 11) (38 - 37) (55 - 50) (77 - 67) |
Olympiacos celebrated their third victory of the season (second in the Euroleague) over their big rivals, Panathinaikos, defeating the Prasini 77-69 at the Stadio Eirinis kai Filias. Rather than Spanoulis or Printezis stealing the show, it was Ioannis Papapetrou who came through in the end to bring Olympiacos’ record up to 11-5 in the Euroleague.
It was a tight game in the opening three quarters before Olympiacos pulled away with a double digit lead at the start of the fourth quarter (64-53). Panathinaikos got back into the game with a 9-1 run, cutting Olympiacos’ advantage to three points (65-62). However, Papapetrou stopped the visitors’ momentum with two important three-pointers to re-give Olympiacos a comfortable nine point lead (71-62) with three minutes remaining. Papapetrou added two more points to Olympiacos’ tally, as the margin was too large for Panathinaikos to overcome. In the end, Olympiacos came away with the 77-69 win.
The MVP of the match, Ioannis Papapetrou, was the leading scorer for Olympiacos with 13-points, 8 of them coming in the final five minutes. Spanoulis added 12 points while Birch (9-rebounds) and Green finished the game with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
James (24-points) and Rivers (23-points) led Panathinaikos’ charge as they both scored over 20 points. Both Calathes and Bourousis were on an off night only scoring 7 points between the two Greek stars.
Today’s win not only moves Olympiacos’ record up to 11-5 in the Euroleague (tied for 2nd), but it gives the Erythrolefki the advantage in a possible tiebreaker with the Trifylli. This was the second meeting between the two teams in this year’s Euroleague Regular season, with Olympiacos having won both encounters. Panathinaikos move down to 9-7 and are 6th in the standings.
