Panathinaikos OPAP Athens made the best out of a huge 0-20 run between the first and second quarter to get an easy 85-65 (23-16, 25-12, 17-16, 20-21) away win over Aris Thessaloniki and the ticket to the Greek League semifinals, where they will be facing Larissa BC in a best-of-five series.
Leonidas Kaselakis led all scorers with 17 points on 6/7 from the field, while Giorgos Papagiannis added 16 on a perfect 8/8, plus 7 rebounds.
Greek forward Omiros Netzipoglou scored 12 points for the hosts, as their first scorer in the season, Anthony Cowan, was evidently out of tune, going 2/16 from the field.
The team coached by Giorgos Vovoras saw Aris come within 11 points (20-31) midway through the second quarter. However, Leonidas Kaselakis came up big with ten consecutive points in four minutes, restoring the Greens' lead to over 15 points.
PAO headed into the second half with a comfortable 20-point lead (48-28) which proved more than enough for the Greens, as in the remaining time, Aris couldn't respond.
Aris Thessaloniki: Omiros Netzipoglou 12 (6/14 FG), Anthony Cowan 9 (2/16 FG, 4/4 FT, 5 AST), Errick Lockett 9, Stavros Schizas 9.
Panathinaikos: Leonidas Kaselakis 17 (6/7 FG, 1/2 FT, 5 REB), Giorgos Papagiannis 16 (8/8 FG, 7 REB, 3 AST), Okaro White 14 (6/7 FG, 4 REB), Daryl Macon 8 (5 AST), Jeremy Evans 8.
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