PAOK Thessaloniki booked its place in the Greek Super Cup final with an 84-82 victory over Panathinaikos, as Cedi Osman delivered the decisive shot against his former club.
Panathinaikos appeared to have taken control in the closing seconds when Sylvain Francisco connected from three-point range to give his team an 82-81 advantage.
PAOK had one final opportunity, however, and Osman responded by hitting a buzzer-beating three-pointer to complete the win for Andrea Trinchieri’s team.
“We were playing against a team that has dominated Europe in recent years, and it was a very tough game,” Osman said afterward. “Our goal was to stay in the game and win it. We trust each other, we trust the system, and I am very happy that we managed to win the game.”
Osman, who moved from Panathinaikos to PAOK during the summer, also discussed what his new team is trying to establish early in the season.
“We are building something new,” he said. “We want our opponents to feel uncomfortable when they play against us. We will fight in every game.”
Asked about taking the game-winning shot against his former team, Osman pointed to confidence as the key.
“I think these shots are the easiest shots,” he said. “You have to take them with confidence. That’s what I did, and I’m very happy it went in.”
Despite the dramatic finish, Osman said there were no hard feelings between him and his former Panathinaikos teammates.
“They’re my brothers,” he said. “On the court we play as opponents, but afterwards we’re always friends. I congratulated them, and they congratulated me. They played a good match too.”
Panathinaikos coach Zeljko Obradovic praised PAOK while identifying poor shooting and rebounding as major problems for his team.
“Congratulations to PAOK on the win,” Obradovic said. “I’m very happy with how my players fought. We continued in the same way we played in the friendly games and at the beginning of the season.”
“It was obvious that we shot very badly, and in the first half we gave them a lot of opportunities to score from second chances. They took 13 offensive rebounds, so I believe the key was there.”
Obradovic also reflected on the final sequence that allowed Osman to decide the game.
“At the end of the game, it’s different,” he noted. “We scored two tough shots with very good concentration from my players, and on PAOK’s last offense, these things can happen. We didn’t control the rebound, and they scored. Once again, congratulations to PAOK.”
