Panathinaikos and Aris will face-off in Irakleio for the Greek Cup final, after their big wins against Olympiacos and Panionios. The big final will happen in 9-2-2014.
Aris – Panionios 88-79
It been nine years since Aris was part of the Greek Cup Final. The youth team of the “Emperor” outplayed Panionios in Nick Gallis Hall after a great match and is one step away from glory.
Aris showed from the 1st minute that he wanted the game more than his opponent, and the 26-6 run during the first 8 minutes of the game was a good proof. The score of the quarter was 34-11. But the home team did not stop there. Coach Aggelou’s team remained focused to their target, did not allow Panionios to react and by the end of the half they hold on to a 20-point lead (50-30).
Everybody was waiting for Panionios to return to the game, but the only player who was decent was Eric McCollum. Of course Aris had a great flow all over the court and they could not be threatened from just one player. The end of the 3rd found Panionios trailing 70-56. During the 4th, Aris seemed to be tired and the away side grabbed the chance to cut the lead to just 4 (78-74), but they could not take the lead and finally Aris was more patient taking the win and securing a spot to the final. Vezenkov scored 24(3), while McCollum who carried Panionios all along, had 31 points.
Panathinaikos – Olympiacos 67-59
We usually meet this couple in the final of the Cup, but this time the two sides had to fight for a spot to it. Panathinaikos emerged victorious after a tight and physical game with tough defenses.
The opening quarter was based on defense for both sides, while Olympiacos could not find his way to the basket. The 18.000 Panathinaikos fans gave their team the boost they needed to take an early lead 20-16 by 10th minute. During the second quarter, Olympiacos defended even harder, forcing their opponents in many mistakes, and in the end, cutting the lead to 1 point (35-34) at halftime.
The “Greens” started the half stronger, their opponents lost their composure, did not score for 6 minutes and the score was 40-36, right before Perperoglou brought his team back to the game with a shot behind the arc. However, the home team took another 45-39 lead, but the bad news was the 3rd Diamantidis’ foul that brought him to the bench and gave the “Reds” the chance to have a 5-0 run an close the quarter 45-44, with a 10-10 partial score.
At the beginning of the 4th, the two teams were exchanging the lead until several offensive rebounds from Panathinaikos, pushed them to a 54-50 lead. Perperoglou once again brought the away side back to the game but Macioulis and Lasme took the game on their hands and finally gave Panathinaikos the chance to secure their title in Irakleio. Macioulis had 11 for the home team, while Sloukas had 13 for the defeated side.
