First games of the quarter-finals for the Greek play-offs with all 4 home teams dominating their opponents. Read the full game reviews below:

Olympiacos- Aris 77-44

Olympiacos defended great during the second half, forced Aris to achieve a surprising low point total, and got the first win of the series. The “Reds” appeared cautious in the beginning but so did their opponents, but the home team’s good shooting totals gave them a 20-14 lead after 10 minutes. Aris tried to stay close, found the way to the basket and used full court press, achieving to keep the point difference to 6 points 33-27.

The European Champions did not want to risk giving Aris a shot for the win, so their intense defensive attempts made the visitors to commit many turnovers, miss many easy shots and close the 3rd quarter in front 63-35, securing the win. But coach Bartzokas’ team was not willing to step off the throttle. As a result, they allowed Aris only 17 points throughout the second half, and now the series move to Thessaloniki where Aris will try to equalize. Spanoulis had 18 for the Reds, but he also had 5 assists and 5 rebounds.

Panionios- K.A.O.Dramas 83-73

Bavcic’s heroics were not enough since KAOD did not have what it takes to beat Panionios on the road. Despite their bad start, Panionios quickly recovers and takes control of the game and with Milbourne leading the way they close the 1st period in front 23-19. At this point, Eric McCollum “took his gun” and gave his team many offensive solutions, but Bavcic was doing everything possible to keep KAOD to the game. The big three-pointer by Saloustros before the buzzer, brings Panionios in front 45-39 by halftime.

The visitors got in the game after the break, clearly trying to catch Panionios off-guard, but their not so good shooting totals and Panionios ability to control the rebounds, forced them to stay on their opponent’s tail and try to overtake. McCollum gave his team more offensive solutions with Carter and Batis doing their best defensively, and after 30 minutes, the score was 60-57. During the last quarter, Bavcic was clearly tired, Brown stepped up for KAOD but they could not find an answer to Panionios’ shooting crescendo. Duvnjak hits a big three-pointer 2 minutes before the end, brings Panionios up by 13 and the series first win goes to Panionios who now has to move to Drama to steal the win, while the Dramians will make their last stand tomorrow evening. Big game for Bavcic who had 29, while Eric McCollum scored 25 points.

Panathinaikos- Apollon Patras 88-61

An easy evening for the Greek Champions against the 8th team in the Greek League. An emphatic start for the home team that managed to score 32 points against 15, setting the tone of the game. Apollon tried to react but since the “Greens” did the basics right and the halftime score was 43-28.

Nothing really changed after the break with Panathinaikos dominating both sides of the court. The visitors scored only 7 points during the 3rd period and stood no chance. 74-35 was the scored after 30 minutes of play. From that point, since the game was over, coach Alvertis tried many different approaches, allowing Apollon to cut the lead. Jankovic was the only player to score 10 points and all the other players of the roster had their moments, in an offensive polyphony for Panathinaikos.

P.A.O.K.- A.E.Neas Kifissias 70-66

PAOK dominated the opening game of the series, taking the lead from early on and keeping it until the end. Tight start for both sides with AENK playing tight defense and bringing the game to low pace.17-15 was the score after 10’. However, PAOK took charge of the game and set higher pace, that helped him to create a good lead against their opponents. Cooper led the way for the home team alongside Payne. Liakopoulos was the one who kept his team in the game. 44-32 was the halftime score.

AENK’s pressure on defense and PAOK’s mediocre shooting totals helped the visitors to reduce the gap and return to the game. 54-47 was the score after 30 periods. The home side attempted to control the game but the team from Kifissia dominated inside the paint, controlled the rebounds and reduced the gap to 2 points. But PAOK’s experience and quality was the factor that turned the game in their favour. Cooper scored 20 points and Charalambides had 15. Now the series move to Kifissia with AENK looking to have another chance to promote to the semi-finals.