GRE – A come-from-behind shocker as Panathinaikos beat Olympiacos in Game 3

ATHENS (A1 Ethniki) - Panathinaikos moved back into pole position in the Greek play-off finals after coming from behind in the fourth quarter to stun Olympiacos 79-70 on Wednesday night.

The Reds had leveled the series on Sunday in Piraeus and looked to be headed for victory in Game 3 after opening up a 60-46 lead on a three-pointer by Ioannis Bourousis with three minutes to go in the third quarter.

But Panathinaikos hit back for a famous win.

“I’m proud of my players for coming back from 14 points,” Pana coach Zeljko Obradovic said.

"I have to say that after such a game, it was one of the best in my life.

“In every second, even at minus-14, we thought we could win.”

The end of the third quarter was crucial for Panathinaikos.

After a timeout, they finished the frame with a 5-0 run, with Lithuania international Sarunas Jasikevicius hitting a shot just before the buzzer to leave the Greens trailing 60-51.

Panathinaikos then seized control by outscoring the Reds 12-1 in the first 4:46 of the fourth quarter for a 63-61 lead.

Mike Batiste had the last six points in that spurt.

Josh Childress hit a three-ball to put Olympiacos back in front, only for Vassilis Spanoulis, Jasikevicius and Spanoulis again to score for a 69-64 Panathinaikos lead with 2:59 remaining.

Obradovic's side stayed in front the rest of the way.

“You can find many plays that can changed the flow of the game,” Obradovic said.

“The three-pointer Childress made at the end of the half, the three-pointer Bourousis made to take the lead to 14 points, but Jasikevicius made an incredible shot at the end of the third period and that changed the momentum.”

Olympiacos, who missed all 23 of their shots from long range in a heavy Game 1 defeat, drilled 14 of 29 (48%) in Game 3 but that still wasn't enough.

Panathinaikos, who made seven of their 22 three-ball attempts, were 22 of 31 inside the arc compared to the Reds' 10 of 29.

Drew Nicholas hit five of 10 shots from long range for Pana and finished with a game-high 18 points.

Spanoulis, who had been a doubt before the game because of injury, played 17 minutes and had 10 points.

Stratos Perperoglou, Batiste and Nikola Pekovic also scored 10 apiece.

Bourousis finished with 17 points for Olympiacos.

"The sixth man was significant for us so we want to thank the fans,” Obradovic said.

Sadly, there were incidents of fans throwing objects onto the floor.

“Obviously we do not agree with throwing bottles and do not know why those fans come here, but they certainly did not come for basketball,” Obradovic said.

FIBA