Sasha Vezenkov

Greece's Euroleague representatives are heading to opposite directions, as Panathinaikos is clearly on the mend while Olympiakos sees the top eight spots slipping away. In this double week Panathinaikos had one win and one loss, while Olympiakos lost both its games.

Olympiakos took an important step toward a playoff spot with its home win over Bayern Munich, while Panathinaikos is waiting for new coach Oded Kattash to help it recover after three losses in a row in the Euroleague.

The Reds had a must-win game at the Peace and Friendship Stadium against Bayern and managed to scrape through with an 84-82 result on Friday.

Olympiakos put 105 past Khimki in Russia to end its three-game losing streak in the Euroleague, while Panathinaikos succumbed to host Red Star in Belgrade.

Facing bottom team Khimki meant Olympiakos had to win this road match on Tuesday, and it did so in style, with a 105-88 score, to score its eighth victory in 16 matches.

The restart of the Euroleague saw a depleted Olympiakos overcome visiting Villeurbanne and Panathinaikos throw away another big lead to go down at home to Barcelona.

Olympiakos braved its numerous injury problems to defeat Villeurbanne 77-68 at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Thursday for its 11th win in 25 games.

Panathinaikos looks like slipping out of contention for a play-off spot in the Euroleague after its loss at Zalgiris, while Olympiakos produced a widely anticipated home win over Khimki to stay in the running for a top-four finish.

PAOK eliminated holder AEK and Kymi beat joint Basket League leader Peristeri to make the Greek Cup semifinals along with favorites Panathinaikos and Olympiakos.

By George Georgakopoulos

Sasha Vezenkov was the protagonist of the opening round of games of the 2014-15 Basket League as he led Aris to a significant away win at Panelefsiniakos, while favorites Panathinaikos and Olympiakos started off with home victories on Sunday.