In Greece, it will indeed be Olympiacos versus Panathinaikos playing for the championship for their sixth season in a row. Despite the disappointment Reds fans have suffered in recent history – as eight-time consecutive champs, the Greens have knocked off their rivals in the last seven Greek finals meetings going back to 1999 – Sport.gr reminds that longer-term history is firmly on Olympiacos’ side.
To wit: In 26 years of the EΣAKE playoff format, just three titles have been won by teams without home court advantage. On the other hand, Panathinaikos bagged two of those trophies, with the most recent slaying of the Reds in PAO’s triple-crown season of 2008-09.
In fact, nearly a decade passed before a Greek side come overcome the underdog’s disadvantage; on its part, Panathinaikos finally overcame in 1999 with a win still celebrated among Green backers today.
The sole other instance of the lower seed conquering a top dog (and the first in Greece) was accomplished by – you guessed it – Olympiacos back in 1993. In fact, that season representing the sole instance of an EΣAKE team winning back-to-back playoff series without the benefit of home court advantage.
