Olympiacos opened the Greek League playoff final with a 15:12 victory over Panathinaikos, extending its winning run and taking a 1:0 lead in the best-of-five series.
The match stayed competitive until the closing minutes, with Panathinaikos refusing to go away despite Olympiacos controlling long stretches of the contest.
Panathinaikos made the sharper start, moving into a 2:0 lead early in the first period. Olympiacos responded strongly, scoring four unanswered goals as Panathinaikos went more than nine minutes without finding the net.
Nikolaidis eventually ended the drought to make it 4:2, and Panathinaikos soon added two more goals to level the score at 4:4. The visitors equalised again late in the second period at 5:5, but Olympiacos still looked the more composed side and went into halftime with a narrow 6:5 advantage.
The reigning champion created separation in the third quarter. Konstantinos Kakaris scored from close range midway through the period to give Olympiacos its first three-goal lead of the match at 9:6.
Olympiacos restored that margin early in the fourth quarter, moving ahead 11:8 and then 12:9, but Panathinaikos made one final push. Skoumpakis converted a penalty with 3:16 remaining to cut the deficit to one at 12:11.
However, Olympiacos responded decisively. Danial Angyal scored twice in quick succession to kill off the suspense, before Pouros added another goal to make it 15:11. Skoumpakis scored from a man-up situation on Panathinaikos’ final possession, reducing the final margin to three and finishing as the game’s top scorer with four goals.
Olympiacos now leads the final series 1:0.
2026 Greek League, final — Game 1
Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 15:12
Quarters: 3:2, 3:3, 4:3, 5:4
Olympiacos scorers: Kakaris 3, Genidounias 2, Angyal 2, Zalanki 2, Papanastasiou 2, Gkillas 1, Dimou 1, Nikolaidis 1, Pouros 1.
Panathinaikos scorers: Skoumpakis 4, Gkiouvetsis 3, Papanikolaou 2, Kopelaidis 1, Kourovanis 1.
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