A dominant final quarter and performance from Dinos Mitoglou powered Panathinaikos to a major away victory over their bitter rivals, Olympiacos.
The “Trifylli” defeated the Piraeus side 54-66 at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Friday morning (AEDT) in the Greek Basket League’s fourth round, the result making the Greens outright first place and the only undefeated team.
Olympiacos held a narrow advantage at the close of each of the first two quarters, winning 12-11 and then 31-28, when the tide changed in favour of the Greens.
Panathinaikos came out and performed much stronger in the next two periods, scoring 17 points in the third quarter to Olympiacos’ 12 to go ahead 43-45.
It was the final period where the “Trifylli” took charge, managing to net 21 points compared to their rivals’ 11 to win the game 54-66.
The victory was perfect revenge for the Greens, who have lost the previous two encounters to their enemies this season (in the Super Cup and in the EuroLeague), earning just their second success over Olympiacos in their last 20 meetings in all competitions.
The star performance came from forward-center Dinos Mitoglou, who ended the match with 20 points and 10 rebounds, with strong support from teammates Mathias Lessort (8 points, 11 rebounds), Kyle Guy (11 points) and Juancho Hernangomez (10 points).
Nigel Williams-Goss and Joseph Canaan stood out for the “red-whites”, scoring 14 and 11 points respectively in their losing effort.
Former Olympiacos player Kostas Sloukas received notable attention from the home supporters in his first match at the Peace and Friendship Stadium since making the move to the Green colours.
Panathinaikos now sits alone atop the ladder with eight points with four sides right behind them on seven, (Olympiacos, Aris, Promitheas Patras and Lavrio).
The Greens’ next assignment comes in the EuroLeague wherein they will strive to defeat heavyweights Barcelona in Spain, with the Piraeus Giants also seeking victory against a top-performing EuroLeague side in Fenerbahce.
