Olympiakos Greek Champion, Completes Double

Olympiakos Piraeus defeated Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens 89-85 in the fifth and final match of the Greek Basketball League 2025-26 season play-off final series. After the critical match played at Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus, Olympiakos turned the best-of-five series 3-2 in their favour and reclaimed the Greek Basketball League championship. This victory marks a historic season milestone for Olympiakos; the red-and-whites, who also won the EuroLeague championship by beating Real Madrid 92-85 at the start of the season, crowned the season with a double along with the national league title. For Olympiakos, who lifted their fourth EuroLeague cup after 1997, 2012 and 2013, this season was recorded as one of the most successful seasons in club history.

The final series was the scene of a great battle from start to finish. While Olympiakos won the first match 82-76, Panathinaikos AKTOR equalised the series with a score of 68-58 in the second match. In the third match, Olympiakos took the lead with 102-92, but in the fourth match played on June 10, Panathinaikos AKTOR won 93-86 after double overtime to bring the series to 2-2. In that match, Olympiakos missing several chances to embrace the championship created a new atmosphere of tension in the fifth match. The red-and-white team under the management of Olympiakos head coach Giorgos Bartzokas turned the stand support into an advantage this time in the fifth match played in Piraeus.

Olympiakos star player Evan Fournier continued his performance at the EuroLeague Final Four also in the Greek finals and stood out as his team's scoring leader. Experienced Sasha Vezenkov served as the key name of the team both in defence and offence. Nikola Milutinov became one of the players who made the difference with his scoring and rebounding contribution inside. Thomas Walkup, Tyler Dorsey and Cory Joseph also took important shares in the team's victory. On the other side, in Panathinaikos AKTOR under the management of Ergin Ataman, Kendrick Nunn, TJ Shorts, Nigel Hayes-Davis and Cedi Osman took on the scorer role but the green-and-whites could not stop the home team in the last match of the series.

Olympiakos thus lifted the Greek Basketball League championship for the second consecutive time after the 2024-25 season. Olympiakos, who displayed a dominant game both at home and in the European arena throughout the season, completed one of the most successful seasons in Greek basketball history. While it is stated that the celebrations in Piraeus will last for a long time, it is being talked about that the management will take action in a short time to start planning the new season.

Image: tovima.com