Greek A1: Olympiacos and Panathinaikos open semis with wins

Round of the Greek A1 semi-finals went to history and form as Olympiacos Piraeus and Panathinaikos Athens eased to victory.

History suggests one of these clubs will win the titles. Olympiacos has won the last two, but Panathinaikos has claimed seven of the last ten. No other club since AEK in 2002 has won. In other words, toss a coin between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos to win the league title this season.

Indeed, this season it really is as close as a coin toss … it feels like a 50/50 campaign. Through the Regular Season, both teams only dropped a single game, with both finishing on 25-1 records. Olympiacos does have the distraction of the EuroLeague Final Four next weekend, but the showpiece will be over by time the Greek A1 finals come.

Panathinaikos Athens vs. AEK Athens, 80-70

In this Athens derby, Panathinaikos just had the legs over its city rival. However, The Greens were made to work hard after trailing by four points at halftime. The hosts turned it one in the second half, claiming it 45-31 to take the win. Panathinaikos was hot in the paint, claiming 54 points in the hot zone. The hosts also made 21-of-23 free shots (91.3 percent) to take advantage of some free points.

Nick Calathes led the win with 23 points, followed by Chris Singleton with 14 points. Ioannis Bourousis recorded a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Dimitrios Mavroeidis paced the losing effort with 18 points, while Michael Dixon collected 15 points.

Olympiacos vs. Aris Thessaloniki, 84-54

Olympiacos looked deadly as the home team dismantled Aris Thessaloniki to take a 1-0 series lead. The hosts were never in doubt, leading from the opening tip-off to the closing buzzer. Defence was as important as offence in the win, especially late on when Olympiacos led Aris to 7 points in the third act. 24 assists meant the Olympiacos attack could share the scoring load and always look one step ahead.

Thomas Zevgara topped the winners with 14 points, followed by Erick Green and Patric Young with 11 points apiece.

Vasileios secured 14 points for Thessaloniki.