Bulgarian international Alexander Vezenkov and his club team Olympiacos lost to Panathinaikos 68:79 (17:17, 12:28, 22:24, 17:10) in the final of the Greek Men's Basketball Cup tournament, which was played in Heraklion, BTA reported.
Thus, Olympiacos lost to the same opponent in the match for the trophy for the second year in a row and remains with 12 awards from the competition. Panathinaikos, on the other hand, added the country's 22nd Cup to its showcase.
Alexander Vezenkov finished with 16 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 26:22 minutes on the court, and was substituted in the second half after appearing to experience discomfort in his lower back.
The two teams played an equal opening 10 minutes, but in the second period, the 2025 trophy holder Panathinaikos took advantage of Olympiacos' weaker play and built a lead that reached 17 points at 45:28. Nikola Milutinov scored one free throw before the end of the first half, which ended with a 29:45 deficit for the "reds" from Piraeus.
Up until that point, Vezenkov had scored 14 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
In the third quarter, Olympiacos reduced its deficit to 12 points at 35:47, but a little later the lead of the "greens" reached 19 points, and after 30 minutes of play, Panathinaikos led 69:51. In the remaining time, Olympiacos basketball players were unable to significantly reduce their deficit and threaten the leadership of the opponent, who controlled the game and rejoiced with the trophy at the end.
Nigel Hayes-Davies was the most productive player for Panathinaikos' success with 15 points and 6 rebounds.