Panathinaikos AKTOR defeated Olympiacos in the final of the OPAP Final 8 Men's Cup and claimed the trophy for the 21st time in its history.
Panathinaikos AKTOR started impressively on defense, keeping Olympiacos scoreless for the first three and a half minutes of the game (6-0 at 4’). Olympiacos responded with a short scoring run of its own, taking the lead (6-7 at 6’), before the teams exchanged advantages throughout the rest of the first quarter. Panathinaikos AKTOR finished the first ten minutes trailing by five (16-21 at 10’), but quickly turned things around to take the lead (28-27 at 14’). The first half ended with the team down by four (30-34).
At the start of the second half, Panathinaikos AKTOR significantly improved its three-point shooting, completely shifting the momentum. The +6 lead (47-41 at 25’) reflected the game’s balance at that stage. The advantage remained in Panathinaikos' hands until the end of the third quarter (59-55 at 30’).
In the final period, Panathinaikos AKTOR extended its lead to +7 (71-64) with five minutes remaining. Olympiacos went on a scoring run to take the lead (71-75) at the 38-minute mark. However, Panathinaikos AKTOR responded immediately with six consecutive points in under a minute to reclaim the advantage (77-75) with 50 seconds left.
With two crucial defensive stops in the final moments, Panathinaikos AKTOR secured the Greek Cup title for the 21st time in its history.
QUARTERS: 16-21, 30-34, 59-55, 79-75.
PANATHINAIKOS AKTOR (Ataman): Kalaitzakis, Brown 2, Sloukas 17 (3), Osman 7, Papapetrou 5 (1), Grant 10 (1), Nunn 17 (1), Gabriel 3, Hernangomez 11 (1), Mitoglou 7 (1).
OLYMPIACOS (Bartzokas): Williams-Goss 10 (1), Larentzakis 7 (1), Fall 10, Vezenkov 17 (2), Papanikolaou 6 (2), Peters 3, Milutinov 4, McKissic 7, Fournier 11 (2).
