It’s time for the grand finals of the Stoiximan Basket League championship! Panathinaikos AKTOR and Olympiacos are set to clash for the championship title, just days after the Euroleague concluded with Panathinaikos securing first place and Olympiacos finishing third.
The Green team will host the team from Piraeus at OAKA tonight, Wednesday (5/6), for Game 1 of the series, with the tip-off scheduled for 21:15 (live on ERT3).
Panathinaikos coach Ergin Ataman has a full roster at his disposal and shared his thoughts in the pre-game press conference: “I congratulate Olympiacos for maintaining a high level throughout the season. Congratulations also to Olympiacos fans for the Conference. We played 7 matches, lost 4. But we won 3 matches in the Basket League. Big guys and guards play important roles in my system. It will be a tough series as we have seen in the past. I hope everyone talks about the sport of basketball after the games. The most important thing is how the players will manage the matches.”
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On the other side, Olympiacos coach Giorgos Bartzokas will be without Mustafa Fall due to injury and has left Moses Wright, Ignas Brazdeikis, and Luke Sikma off the roster. Bartzokas commented: “I congratulate Panathinaikos for winning the Euroleague. The finals series against an opponent we’ve already faced 7 times this year will have different stories in each game. Team play is crucial, and I don’t think only the big guys play or decide the games. The team needs direction from everyone. Ataman is lucky because he speaks Turkish and doesn’t understand what they say to him at SEF. I’ll try to stay cool too, even though it’s difficult.”
Olympiacos captain Kostas Papanikolaou added: “I’ve said before that with the way basketball has evolved, home advantage is significant if the series reaches the fifth game. We’ve seen away victories in recent years. So, home advantage is very important for the team that will have its fans on its side in the fifth game. Certainly, the crowd is a big boost for anyone playing at home, but the level is very high, and both teams have proven they can win away.”
Panathinaikos leader Kostas Sloukas stated: “The Greek core plays an important role. We have an advantage in this. The native players know well the history of Panathinaikos and what it means. We are happy to have won the trophy and we should come back to reality. The Greek championship is very important for us, especially since Olympiacos won the last two titles.”
