Unstoppable Panathinaikos, “wiped” Olympiakos and picked up the 25th!

Panathinaikos survived another thriller and kept its sceptre! The “greens” in a shocking final at OAKA prevailed in the tie break of Olympiakos (3-2 sets), making it 3-0 in the series and celebrated the second consecutive and 25th overall championship in their history.

Terrible spectacle in the “eternal” derby as Olympiacos surprised Panathinaikos with a terrible performance, taking the lead, then equalized after Panathinaikos’ 2-1, but was “suffocated” by the excellent Irini Hadziefstratiadou who turned into the key player of the match.

Apotheosis for the coach of the “clover” Yiannis Kalmazidis, who became the first to win a championship in men and women. Fifth victory in as many matches for Panathinaikos against Olympiakos this season, with the “red and white” taking two sets from the champions of Greece for the first time.

The match

The first set started with Olympiakos finding solutions with the block and stopping the advance of Anthoulis who came in strong with three of the first five points of Panathinaikos. The “red and white” made it very difficult for the already bad reception of the “clover” with Lambrousi finding two aces and Salas blocking several times above the serve, giving Olympic an eight-point lead (8-16) and forcing Yiannis Kalmazidis to take time out. The “greens” with their return to the taraflex managed to “warm up” their fans as with a quick 4-0 run which came thanks to Medits, Papafotiou and Salas they reduced to 12-16, with Miceli calling the his first time out. However, despite the point that Koumboura got afterwards, the players of Yiannis Kalmazidis continued in the same pattern, reducing the difference to two for 15-17, with the coach of Olympiakos calling a time-out again. Consecutive missed attacks from Anthoulis and Grotous put Olympiakos back in a position of strength with Salas ending the set 21-25 giving the Piraeus team the lead.

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The second set continued with Olympiakos leading by maintaining the excellent block, but changing his service philosophy by marking the back zone. The “red and white” with three consecutive points from the Hall but also the misguided attempts of the “greens” the score came to +5 for the guests (2-7). Panathinaikos with Mendic and Grotos tried to “nibble” the difference, but Gina Lambrousi made a magnificent match restoring Olympiakos’ +5. Panathinaikos continued to be stressed, as a result of which the visiting Olympiacos continued to dominate and shoot the difference to +7 (10-17) for Kalmazidis’ timeout. This helped the “greens” as with a 3-0 run they brought the score to -4 with Miceli also calling a timeout. From then on, the match became a derby again with Panathinaikos trying to reduce the difference and the Olympiakos block constantly resisting. However, two bad attacks by Koumboura and a wrong serve by the guests put Anae in an attacking position with the American cleaning up after two lost set balls to tie Panathinaikos 26-24.

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The third set remained a derby with Panathinaikos taking the lead thanks to Irini Hatziefstratiadou and Anthoulis. Salas found answers for Olympiakos, giving her team the right to stay close and then tie the game at 15-15 with Yiannis Kalmazidis calling a timeout. The continuation again had the team of Yiannis Kalmazidis in a leading role with Irini Hatziefstratiadou helping to block and receive and becoming an “X-Factor” for Panathinaikos. Anae and Anthoulis broke several times the block of Olympiakos, who failed to cope and correct his mistakes with 25-17 being what brought the “green” reversal for 2-1.

The picture of the fourth set was different, with Panathinaikos reaching a quick 3-1 and Olympiakos with an impressive 5-0 run reaching +3 for 3-6, forcing Giannis Kalmazidis to call a time-out. Then Salas and Winters made a maximum effort putting Olympiakos in front, at the moment when the “green” reception did not respond, as a result of which the guests took the lead for 13-17. The block and the reception of Olympiakos continued to break bones, with Lambrousi and Kosmas breaking the attacks of Panathinaikos, giving the team a five-point lead (16-21). The “red and white” managed not to be affected by Panathinaikos’ attempt to reduce and took the set 20-25 leading the 3rd final to a tie break.

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