OLYMPIAKOS

One of the country?s leading basketball referees had his car torched on Saturday, a few days before the start of the Greek basketball league finals, likely to be between champion Panathinaikos and challenger Olympiakos.

The car of Christos Panayiotou was set alight on Saturday night at his hometown of Patra, after its windscreen was smashed and a petrol bomb was thrown in.

By George Georgakopoulos

Olympiakos completed a league-and-cup double on Saturday by beating Xanthi 3-1 in the Greek Cup final at the Olympic Stadium of Athens, that was more balanced than the final score suggests.

Triple Euroleague champion Olympiakos Piraeus fought back to edge CSKA Moscow 70-68 in a nail-biting contest to reach the final after overcoming a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter on Friday.

Playmaker Vassilis Spanoulis scored 11 of his 13 points in the last five minutes of a rip-roaring contest as Olympiakos continued to haunt its more fancied Russian rival.

European club basketball heavyweight Real Madrid will be hard pressed to win its first Euroleague title since 1995 when it hosts the competition's Final Four this weekend.

By George Georgakopoulos

Four days before facing off in the battle that will determine the top spot in the regular season, Olympiakos and Panathinaikos scored easy league wins on Tuesday in games postponed from the previous round due to their Euroleague commitments.

There was Turkish delight and Spanish sorrow on a night of frantic Euroleague playoff action as Anadolu Efes Istanbul beat Real Madrid while Greek side Olympiakos Piraeus sank Barcelona on April 21.

By George Georgakopoulos

Olympiakos produced its best away performance so far this season to defeat host Barcelona 76-63 on Friday and snatch the home advantage in the Euroleague play-offs.

The Reds have now tied the series at 1-1 and are taking it to Piraeus for two games next week, expecting to win the best-of-five series in front of their own fans.

By George Georgakopoulos

Panathinaikos and Olympiakos are entering the Euroleague play-offs this week as outsiders, as not only do they face the mighty CSKA Moscow and Barcelona respectively but their opponents have the home advantage in the best-of-five series.

 Police stops fan clash in... women's volleyball

By George Georgakopoulos

By George Georgakopoulos

Olympiakos not only lost to Fenerbahce/Ulker at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Friday but also saw its advantage from the game in Istanbul covered by the Turks, while Panathinaikos produced another erratic performance in the Euroleague, this time in Lithuania, to lose to Zalgiris Kaunas and dent its qualification chances.