Panathinaikos beat Olympiakos 94-81 on Monday night to retain the A1 League title, complete the domestic and European treble and win their seventh consecutive championship.
The visitors did their best to make a contest of Game 4 but the greens broke out after half-time and going into the fourth period there seemed to be little doubt that they would tie up the series 3-1.
Having already picked up the Greek Cup and the Euroleague this season, Panathinaikos rounded off a perfect season in front of an ecstatic home crowd.
It was Panathinaikos fifth consecutive Greek league and couple double and the greens 23rd championship in their illustrious history.
The match was evenly balance in the first half with the two teams exchanging the lead several times. However the first and second period ended with Panathinaikos leading by four and three points respectively.
Olympiakos went on a 7-0 run at the start of the third period to give Reds’ fans brief hope of an upset. But as has been the case so many times in the past, PAO’s experience made the difference.
Zelijko Obradovic’s men retained their cool and established a nine-point lead. Even a three-pointer from Lynn Greer from the halfway line at the buzzer did not look like it would get Olympiakos back in the game.
Panathinaikos started the final quarter with confidence and with more than five minutes remaining they had established a 15-point lead to put the final outcome beyond doubt.
The two sides traded baskets for the final minutes but some 20,000 Panathinaikos fans had already started celebrating their team’s 11th league title in 12 years.
Vassilis Spanoulis and Drew Nicholas, who nailed 3 three-pointers, led the scoring for the champions with 17 each.
In his best performance in the final series, Lynn Greer netted 21 points for Olympiakos, which included 4 three-pointers.
Meanwhile, Greek American Florida Gators star Nick Calathes landed in Athens on Tuesday morning to sign his contract with PAO.
The 20-year-old decided not to join the NBA for now, although his name remains in the draft, and will instead play professional basketball in his country of origin, at the European champions.
“Panathinaikos are a big club that will help me develop as a player. The NBA is a big dream for me and if the opportunity arises I won’t say no to it, but I do not see Panathinaikos as a stepping stone,” said Calathes upon his arrival at the Athens airport.