Olympiakos and Panathinaikos will once again battle it out for the Greek Cup in next month’s final, after confirming their tickets in the semi-finals on February 9.

The finalists of the previous three years will face off in yet another cup showdown after dismissing their Thessalonica opponents.

Holder Olympiakos defeated PAOK 89-61 at home on the night, having beaten the Thessalonica club by 19 points in the first leg as well.

Panathinaikos lost on the night at Aris with a final score of 74-70 at Thessalonica, but this wasn’t a problem for the Greens as they had won by 29 points in the first leg in Athens.

However the victory for Aris is certain to boost the team’s battered morale, following its losses to PAOK in the Greek league and Goettingen in the Eurocup.

The final will take place on March 6 in Athens, possibly at the Elliniko court as in the previous two years.

In the A1 Greek League, both Olympiakos and Panathinaikos strolled to fresh victories in last weekend’s league games, but most other encounters were very competitive and some even controversial.

While Olympiakos saw off Panionios at home with an 82-63 win on February 5 and Panathinaikos ran riot at Peristeri with a final score of 89-64 the following day, the main focus was on PAOK’s victory over Aris in the Thessalonica derby that was played behind closed doors.

PAOK beat 79-74 Aris to climb to the fourth spot in the table, but the latter lodged a complaint with the league’s organisers suggesting that there were far more people in the stands (some 400 according to Aris) than there should have been (no more than 50), while one of the Aris players was allegedly fouled out with just four fouls and not five.

In other games, Panellinios and Ilisiakos edged closer to safety as they defeated teams that are also trying to avoid relegation.

Panellinios downed AEK 68-59 at Lamia on February 6, while Ilisiakos thrashed Iraklis 79-49 at Zografou a day earlier to move up from the bottom of the table for the first time since the start of the championship.

Maroussi consolidated itself in third spot via a precious 81-77 win snatched at Ikaros Kallitheas as Kavala grabbed an important two-pointer, beating playoff hopeful Kolossos 74-70 on Rhodes.