Olympiakos has won its second Greek basketball league title in a row after downing Panathinaikos 3-2 in the final series.

Sealing the 16th league title for the Reds was their home win in Game 5 on Saturday, making the most of the home advantage it fought for over the entire regular season, in a series that – unlike in previous years – saw all matches won by their hosts.

Olympiakos won Game 1 in Piraeus on June 3 with an 82-76 score, in a match that generated huge protests by the Greens about a number of referee calls.

Two days later Panathinaikos leveled the series with a 68-58 home win in a particularly low-scoring game that had Olympiakos coach Giorgos Bartzokas livid with his players.

Game 3, at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus was a clear win for the Reds with an 102-92 score, taking the best-of-five finals to 2-1 on Monday.

Wednesday’s Game 4 at Telekom Center Athens was the most balanced of all, as despite the absences of injured Kostas Sloukas, Cedi Osman and Nikos Rogavopoulos, Panathinaikos was particularly competitive, while Olympiakos appeared trapped in the hosts’ defense at times. Regulation time finished 69-69 and the first overtime ended 79-79, while the second overtime was more one-sided, with the hosts winning 93-86.

Eventually the title came down to the fifth game, at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Saturday. Olympiakos built on its front-line supremacy (with outstanding Nikola Milutinov) and led for the entire game by up to 20 points (59-39), but the never-say-die Greens fought back to close their distance up to four (83-79) through their distance shooting. The Reds would not be denied, though, and triumphed 89-85 in the end to add the Basket League title to that of the 2026 Euroleague, for a remarkable double, having been the best team across the entire season.

Unfortunately the end of the final game was marred by the alleged attack of Olympiakos’ Tyrique Jones on Panathinaikos’ Kendrick Nunn with a punch on his face, as the visitors’ coach Ergin Ataman reported live on television in the post-game interview. Jones and Nunn had been ejected from the game for fighting.

Source: Ekathimerini.com