Though a bit distracted by referees’ calls early, Olympiacos survived to play another day in the Greek championship series, thanks to an amazing 15-2 run to close out the game against Panathinaikos for a final score of 76-68.
The Greens led early as the Reds carried some heavy weight after two games that some felt had been handed to PAO by the zebras; check out the video below for an almost panicky Vassilis Spanoulis heavily disputing the game’s first personal foul call with about one minute elapsed off the game clock.
Olympiacos managed to build as much as an eight-point lead in the first quarter, getting the score up to 24-16 early in the second quarter, though this deficit was swiftly erased by the likes of Drew Nicholas and the Greens’ jump-shooters.
The Reds threw away a more tenuous lead in the fourth quarter as well: Taking a 58-56 into the fourth, Antonis Fotsis put in a three to make it 59-58 to Panathinaikos, a lead that would become a 66-61 score with five minutes to play. However, just went things seemed darkest, Olympiacos put together an 11-0 run highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from Michalis Pelekanos (!) and never looked back.
O, and incidentally, the free throw tally for the match read thusly: Olympiacos 24, Panathinaikos 9.
Of course, this being Greek basketball, the fans played their part as well. An official complaint will reportedly be filed with the league for which “Olympiacos will be held accountable,” as the Reds’ home crowd threw plastic bottles onto the court, lit firecrackers before and during the match “in the vicinity of the stadium,” used laser pointers and were their usual raucous selves verbally.
In fact, upon hearing the insults to the effect that Panathinaikos never would have won games one and two without referee assistance, Dimitris Diamantidis addressed the masses, yelling “What are you talking about?” at fans while leaving the court.
