Christmas came early for Greeks in the Euroleague

Olympiakos and Panathinaikos kept up the chase on Euroleague leader CSKA Moscow with their precious away wins over Efes and Red Star respectively to complete another perfect week for the Greek teams in the competition with four wins in as many matches.

Belgrade is always a hard place to visit for Panathinaikos, particularly when facing Red Star, whose hardcore fans have a close relationship with those of Olympiakos: Yet their clumsy swearing in Greek from the stands on Thursday and even the curiously hostile referee decisions would not be enough to stop the Greens on the night. The 69-63 triumph for the Greek champion points to its likely return later this season, for the Final Four that will take place at the same court.

Even without Nick Calathes, and with Nikos Pappas flying to Belgrade straight from an Athens hospital to join the team and play 17 minutes,...