Olympiakos wins Greek thriller in Euroleague

Olympiakos came from behind (76-72) in the end to defeat archrival and host Panathinaikos 79-77 after a spectacular all-Greek encounter for the Euroleague at the Olympic Sports Hall on Friday. The winner has moved on to a 5-3 record, while Panathinaikos is on four wins in eight games.

Regardless of the result, the two teams showed they have the quality to go all the way to the Final Four this season, after a grueling regular season of 30 games.

Olympiakos produced a perfect performance in the first half, without a single turnover, and led by eight at half-time (47-39) with captain Vassilis Spanoulis scoring 16 points in the first 20 minutes of the game.

Panathinaikos tightened its defense to regain the lead after more than 20 minutes, right at the end of the third quarter (63-61), led by a tireless Nick Calathes.

However a more composed Olympiakos exploited...