Olympiacos and Panathinaikos set up Greek League final clash

Olympiacos and Panathinaikos will meet in the Greek League final after coming through their respective semifinal series.

Olympiacos advanced with a 2-0 win over Vouliagmeni, but the series was far more dramatic than the final scoreline suggested. The defending champions opened with a commanding 20-10 victory, taking control early and never allowing Vouliagmeni to settle.

The second match, however, was completely different. Vouliagmeni’s young team came within seconds of forcing a deciding third game, leading 13-12 with just one minute remaining. But Olympiacos found a late escape. Dimitrios Kakaris equalised with 59 seconds left, before Alexandros Papanastasiou scored the winner just eight seconds from the final buzzer to secure a 14-13 victory.

Olympiacos will now chase a 14th consecutive Greek championship and the 40th national title in the club’s history.

Panathinaikos had to work even harder for their place in the final, eventually defeating Apollon Smyrnis 2-1 in a closely contested semifinal series.

The Greens opened with an 18-15 win at home, inspired by Nikolaos Papanikolaou, who scored seven goals. Apollon responded in Game 2 with a narrow 14-13 victory, with Bogdanovic and Daube scoring three goals each. For Panathinaikos, Konstantinos Skoumpakis led the scoring with five.

That forced a decisive third match, where Panathinaikos led for most of the game and secured a 12-9 victory. Kourovanis and Papasifakis scored three goals each as Panathinaikos booked only its second appearance in the Greek League final.

Their only previous final appearance came in 2015, when they also faced Olympiacos and finished as runners-up.

The upcoming series will also be the second gold-medal meeting between the two rivals this season. Olympiacos narrowly defeated Panathinaikos in the Greek Cup final, winning 13-12 with a decisive goal 19 seconds from time.

Now, Greek water polo’s biggest rivalry will decide the national title.