Vangelis Mantzaris

Olympiakos has returned to the second spot of the Euroleague table with an impressive win over champion Fenerbahce on Thursday, while Panathinaikos went down at Bamberg to put its top-four place at risk.

Game 1 of the Euroleague play-offs saw Olympiakos make the most of its home advantage to defeat Anadolu Efes on Wednesday, after Panathinaikos squandered a 16-point lead to suffer a potentially damaging loss to Fenerbahce in Athens on Tuesday.

Olympiacos earned its 11th Greek basketball title on Sunday night with its 93-74 win against rival Panathinaikos in Game 3 of the finals. It swept its opponent 3-0, returning to its top position after two years as second.

Olympiacos’s basketball team will again head to a European Final Four this season after a buzzer-beating three-pointer on Thursday evening at home against Barcelona by Giorgos Printezis, 71-68.

By George Georgakopoulos

Olympiakos produced its best away performance so far this season to defeat host Barcelona 76-63 on Friday and snatch the home advantage in the Euroleague play-offs.

The Reds have now tied the series at 1-1 and are taking it to Piraeus for two games next week, expecting to win the best-of-five series in front of their own fans.