Galery

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Emanuela Karastoyanova

The A1 game between the basketball teams Panyonios and Olympiakos, played on the pitch in Nea Smyrna turned into a derby. It may be surprising but Panyonios proved to be "hard nut to crack" and the victory of the white and red team did not at all come easily. The champion of the country won by 77-70, but it cost them a lot of nerves and hard struggle... Not only the strong motivation of the hosts to win made it difficult on them, but also the electrifying audiences who wildly chanting in favor of their team. Thus, among the chants in the otherwise small room the hosts entered the game confident in themselves and with high spirit. Something that could not be said for the guests. They certainly struggled to find their rhythm and repeatedly found themselves very close to the loss. Their performance was certainly not as they themselves expected it to be.

The pitch of the meeting was given by the hosts. Milos Vujanic started the attacks and the lead was already a fact. With several consecutive points scored the player of Panyonios lead by 10-9. Both the shooting and the defense of the team was effective. The confused hosts were woken up by Vassilis Spanoulis. Hostile environment did not affect his precise shooting and the team rose to its feet and took the lead in the score by 10-9. Then followed points scored by Giannopoulos and Panyonios took the lead by 14-12. Spanoulis and Nelson turned the score with 16-14 in favor of Olympiakos. Immediately after that followed a series of failures for the guests and the hosts were again the ones winning. The second part ended with 38-35. Olympiakos left the floor low-spirited and without mood.

After the break Olympiakos came back on the field more motivated to fight. But things continued to be difficult. Both teams went hand in hand in the score. This increased the excitement among the audience and motivated Panyonios for more struggle, but it definitely made the guests nervous who seemed to be revolved in a vicious circle. Although difficult, Olympiakos managed to strengthen its defense and for a moment took the lead, although by only 1 point. Panyonios until the end believed in the victory and gave a very hard time for the opponent. At the end of the third part thanks to Papaloukas Olympiakos led by 55-51.

Then once again tensions escalated and exhausted mentally not only the players but also the audience. A minimum advantage was gaining first one of the teams then the other one. After the intervention of Spanoulis the guests led by 77-70 and headed to the locker room with a victory won almost thanks to a miracle...