Olympiacos is close to winning its 13th consecutive title in the Greek Championships. The Piraeus-based team defeated Vouliagmeni 13:12 in the second match of the playoff finals and now holds a 2:0 lead in the best-of-five series.
Olympiacos, the visiting team, led for most of the match, but it secured the victory only in the final minutes. The “Red-Whites” got off to a strong start. They led 7:3 in the middle of the second period. However, Vouliagmeni managed to get back into the game, cutting the deficit to 5:7 with two quick goals. The teams exchanged goals for the remainder of the first half, leaving Olympiacos with an 8:6 advantage at halftime.
In the third period, Vouliagmeni closed the gap, coming within one goal several times (7:8, 8:9, 9:10). Still, Olympiacos entered the final eight minutes with a 2-goal lead (11:9). Less than three minutes into the final quarter, Vouliagmeni equalized. Nemanja Ubovic converted a man-up opportunity to make it 11:11. In the 30th minute, Ioannis Fountoulis put Olympiacos back ahead, scoring for 12:11. Vouliagmeni fought hard to equalize again but was unsuccessful. Olympiacos was awarded a penalty foul with 48 seconds left in the game, and Konstantinos Genidounias converted from the 5-meter line and doubled his team’s advantage, 13:11, effectively ending the contest. Kalogeropoulos scored from a penalty shot for Vouliagmeni 27 seconds before the final buzzer, bringing the score to 12:13, but it was too late for a comeback.
Gergo Zalanki led Olympiacos with six goals, while Kastrinakis scored five for Vouliagmeni.
Olympiacos will host the third game on Saturday.
2024/25 Greek League, playoffs
Final (best of five), Match 2
Vouliagmeni – Olympiacos 12:13 (3:4, 2:4, 3:3, 3:2) – the score in the series 0:2
Vouliagmeni: Kastrinakis 5, Kalogeropoulos 2, Tothis 1, Almyras 1, Ubovic 1, Chatzis 1, Spahitcs 1.
Olympiacos: Zalanki 6, Fountoulis 3, Genidounias 2, Gkillas 1, Dimou 1.
