Panathinaikos stunned Olympiakos on the road in the championship series opener. The guests trailed by 1 point at the halftime before their 41-35 charge in the second half, which allowed them to win the game. 25 personal fouls committed by Olympiakos helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The former international guard Dimitris Diamantidis (196-G-80) fired 21 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists for the winners. American forward Mike Batiste (203-77, college: Arizona St.) chipped in 13 points and 6 rebounds. International center Ioannis Bourousis (212-83, agency: FCM) produced 14 points and 7 rebounds and international center Loukas Mavrokefalides (207-84) added 8 points and 8 rebounds respectively for lost side. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game.
Top scorers:
Panathinaikos: D.Diamantidis 21+5reb+9ast, A.Maric 14+5reb, M.Batiste 13+6reb+1ast, N.Calathes 6+1reb+1ast, A.Fotsis 5+5reb, D.Nicholas 4+4reb+3ast
Olympiakos: M.Teodosic 14+1reb+1ast, I.Bourousis 14+7reb, V.Spanoulis 12+1reb+4ast, T.Papaloukas 9+2reb+1ast, L.Mavrokefalides 8+8reb+1ast, G.Jamon Lukas 7+3reb+5ast

3-4 place
PAOK — Aris 76-74

PAOK celebrated the opening win in the Bronze medals series. It looked good early as Aris took an 6-point lead at the end of first quarter. But then PAOK had a 26-15 second period charge getting the lead and Aris was not able to take back game control losing it eventually 74-76. Worth to mention a great performance of American forward Robert Dozier (206-85, college: Memphis) who helped to win the game recording 17 points and 5 rebounds. FYR Macedonian center Todor Gechevski (209-77, agency: Interperformances) contributed with 15 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. PAOK's coach Soulis Markopoulos allowed to play the deep bench players in such tough game. American guard Bobby Brown (188-84, college: Cal.St. Fullerton, agency: Priority Sports) answered with 24 points and 4 assists and Bosnian power forward Edin Bavcic (210-84, agency: Beo Basket) added 12 points and 8 rebounds in the effort for Aris. Four Aris players scored in double figures.
Top scorers:
PAOK: R.Dozier 17+5reb+3ast, R.Marshall 17+2reb+1ast, T.Gechevski 15+7reb+1ast, G.Dedas 6+1ast, D.Christmas 5+4reb, M.Giannakidis 5+2reb+1ast
Aris: B.Brown 24+3reb+4ast, E.Bavcic 12+8reb+2ast, K.Sloukas 11+6reb+2ast, N.Hatzivrettas 10+2reb+1ast, A.King 7+6reb, K.Charalampidis 7+3reb