Panathinaikos triumphs in Greek Cup final over Olympiakos
An outstanding Juancho Hernangomez led the Greens to reclaiming the trophy after three years it was in the hands of Olympiakos, that was betrayed by its free-throw record (65%) on the night.
To get to Sunday’s trophy game at the Final-8 held in the Cretan capital, Panathinaikos eliminated Peristeri in the quarterfinals and Promitheas in the semis, while Olympiakos saw off Karditsa and PAOK.
The final was a ding-dong affair, with the teams rotating in the lead with small differences in the first half that ended 34-30 in the Reds’ favor (with the Greens having 1/14 triples).
In the third quarter Panathinaikos bounced back, scored 29 points and advanced by up to seven to enter the fourth as the favorite. Yet somehow Olympiakos managed to overturn its 71-64 deficit into a 75-71 advantage two minutes from the end.
That was as far as the hitherto holders would go though, as this 11-0 partial was followed by eight unanswered points from Panathinaikos that sealed the fate of the final.
Hernangomez scored a double-double, with 11 points and 17 rebounds. Kostas Sloukas and Kendrick Nunn notched up 17 points each for the winners, and Sasha Vezenkov also made 17 for Olympiakos, followed by Evan Fournier with 11.
In the women’s final Olympiakos won the Cup with a 59-51 over PAS Giannina, having beaten Panathinaikos in the semifinal.
Kathimerini
