After a phenomenal performance in the Euroleague Final Four, where Olympiacos Piraeus beat the two top-ranked Euroleague teams and surprisingly won the championship, the Reds completed another historical accomplishment.

Olympiacos ended the domination of their biggest rival, Panathinaikos Athens, in the Greek league by winning the best-of-five final series, 3-2. All five games ended with a scoring margin no greater than 12 points.

Panathinaikos had won nine consecutive championships and 14 over the past 15 years. For Olympiacos, it was the first Greek title since the 1996-97 season.

After beating all Euroleague Final Four teams - FC Barcelona in the Euroleague semifinal, CSKA in the final and Panathinaikos in domestic league final, Olympiacos can call itself the king of European basketball.

Vassilis Spanoulis led Olympiacos in the final series, where he averaged 13.2 points and 4.8 assists per game. In the decisive fifth game, Spanoulis, who received the season MVP award, scored a game-high 24 points.

With Panathinaikos' loss to Olympiacos, head coach Zeljko Obradovic departed. Eight-time Euroelague champion Obradovic left Panathinaikos after working there for 13 years.

Panionios Athens finished third in Greek league this season, while Kolossos Rodou was the fourth.

The 35-year-old Nestoras Kommatos of Maroussi Athens led the Greek league in scoring with 20.4 points per game, as his teammate Yannis Gagaloudis led in assists with six.

Ikaros Kallitheas’ Aron Baynes, a former Washington State center, led the league in rebounds with 8.7 per game. Former NBA player Patrick O’Bryant, who played for Kavala this season, was the best in blocks with 1.4 per game.

The Eurocup Regular Season came to a close this week.

BC Donetsk 80-69 BCM Gravelines

BC Donetsk stole a fantastic home win, a win that could have potentially propelled the Ukrainian side to the top of Group A and above their opponent, BCM Gravelines. The 11-point victory wasn’t enough, however, as point differential allowed Gravelines to keep the top spot as both teams advance to the Last 16.

Gravelines went into the second half with a three-point lead, but saw that margin vanish as Ramel Curry led a 20-0 Donetsk run that would put the game away for good. The journeyman guard Curry finished with 21 points and eight rebounds, matched only by teammate Ivan Radenovic, who had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

For the visitors, J.R Reynolds (former Virginia star) was one of only two players to reach double-figures with 17 points and six rebounds.

KK Cibona 78-86 Hapoel Jerusalem

With absolutely nothing on the line, Hapoel Jerusalem finished their Eurocup campaign with a second victory, taking down the Croatian side KK Cibona.

Brian Randle led Jerusalem with 17 points (7-for-11 shooting) while former NBA player Luke Jackson was also decent, contributing 13 of his own.

Cholet Basket 69-66 Paok BC

With 27 points and four assists from Fabien Causeur, Cholet Basket won a meaningless game as the French side battled it out with Paok BC for third position in Group B.

It was a nice ending for the shooting guard with the sweet stroke and nice handles as he finished his Eurocup campaign averaging 23 points and four assists per game.

James Christopher also scored 17 points for the home side while former Boston Celtic J.R Giddens scored 17 while also grabbing six rebounds. Veteran guard Ioannis Kalampokis also had a solid outing, collecting 18 points and nabbing seven rebounds.

VEF Riga 68-79 BC Khimki

BC Khimki finished their Eurocup regular season undefeated as they beat second placed VEF Riga in the other Group B matchup. Never trailing, Khimki received great performances from Alexey Zhukanenko (19 points seven rebounds), former NBA player Zoran Planinic (12 points, eight assists and five steals) and Kresimir Loncar (12 points, seven rebounds).

Former Miami Heat reserve guard Chris Quinn also had a notable performance with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists, as did Australian national player, Matt Nielsen, who had 10 points in 18 minutes. 

Gasterra Flames 75-92 CEZ Nymburk

CEZ Nymburk continued their great play in Group C, defeating Gasterra Flames on the road and remaining atop the table. Adrian Abrams score 17 points (3-4 from down town), while Drew Naymick (six rebounds), Tre Simmons and Eugene Lawrence (eight assists) all scored 14 apiece.

Aris BSA 96-86 BC Rudupis

Aris BSA was able to hold on and win a thriller at home, securing second place in Group C. Their overtime victory was even more memorable considering they dropped an 11 point third quarter lead.

Ronald Davis saved the game for the home team as his dunk with five seconds left evened the score at 78 apiece. He finished with 19 points while Dominic James (22 points) and Christos Tapoutas (18 points, 11 rebounds) also played starring roles.

Arminas Urbutis was great for the visitors and his third quarter play helped sparked the run that cut away at Aris’ 11 point lead. He totaled 20 points and five rebounds.

Telenet Oostende 87-83 Valencia Basket

With no chance at a trip to the Last 16, Telenet Oostende still managed a victory against group leading Valencia Basket. The shocking loss dropped the Spanish powerhouse out of first place in Group D as the team collapsed in the final eight minutes, giving up a small lead.

Forward Winston Kennedy (Alabama University 2002-05) scored 19 points and made 11-of-13 attempts at the line while Dusan Djordjevic had 19 points and seven rebounds.

Asvel Basket 69-68 Lukoil Academic

Kim Tillie nailed a jumper with under half a second remaining in overtime to lift Asvel Basket over Lukoil Academic and into Group D’s top position.

Tillie was strong throughout and nailed some important baskets down the stretch. He finished with 19 points on 9-13 shooting while Dijon Thompson had 21 of his own. Former New Orleans Hornet Hilton Armstrong didn’t have a great shooting night, but he did manage 10 rebounds and three steals.

G. Canaria 71-58 Fraport Skyliners

Gran Canaria did everything they needed to do in Round 6 by defeating struggling German side Fraport Skyliners, but still failed to qualify for the Last 16. Stuck with four wins and two losses left Gran Canaria in a three-way tie for the top-two positions in Group E and they missed out on advancing by the smallest of margins.

Not a close game at all, Canaria was led by Nelson Spencer who scored 15 and grabbed nine boards. Their balanced attack won out against the one man show of Jimmy McKinny (27 points, 5-8 three point shooting) with all but one man on the roster scoring at least two points.

Banvit BK 79-55 Lokomotiv Kuban

Banvit BK blew out Lokomotiv Kuban and the win sealed top position in Group E for the Turkish side. Despite the no show from Lokomotiv, they find themselves also making the Last 16, beating out Gran Canaria on point differential.

Six players reached double figures for Banvit with Chuck Davis and Kenan Bajramovic leading the way with 15 and 14 points respectively.

BC Azovmash 67-74 Lietuvos Rytas

Lietuvos Rytas won their matchup with BC Azovmash and remained one of three teams to finish the Eurocup regular season undefeated.

Lietuvos found themselves down at the half, but the Lithuanian side took the lead in the third term and never gave it back. Renaldas Seibutis (17 points), Tyrese Rice (16 points, seven assists) and Lawrence Roberts (15 points, six rebounds) all had nice performances for Lietuvos.

KRKA Novo Mesto 68-65 Le Mans

Their second seed already secured in Group F, KRKA Novo Mesto won a tight game at home against Le Mans. The scores were even with just over four minutes to go, but Novo Mesto hold on to leave Le Mans with just one win for their campaign.

Smiljan Pavic led KRKA with 13 points and eight rebounds and Jure Balazic was also great, posting 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Spartak St. Petersburg 97-77 Benetton Treviso

Spartak wrapped up the inevitable last night by blowing out Italian side Benetton Treviso at home by 20 points. Six wins and zero losses to their name, Spartak completed another dominant performance Vladimir Dragicevic’s 21 point effort. Pint-sized, exciting point guard Patrick Beverely only managed four points, but made up for his lack of scoring by contributing eight rebounds and ten assists.

Benetton emerged from the loss with a three-three win-loss record and still qualifies for the Last 16. Decimated by the recent losses of extremely talent 19-year-old top-scorer Alessandro Gentile to Olimpia Milano and NBA player Brian Scalabrine, Benetton were not as dangerous as they had been earlier in the tournament, but received a welcome 22 points on 6-6 shooting from three point land by Jobey Thomas.

Bayern Munich 80-65 Cedevita

Bayern Munich finally gave their fans something to cheer about with a home win against another struggling side, Cedevita. Both failed to qualify for the Last 16, but Bayern, with their deep pockets and talented roster should be better next season.

Center Jarred Homan was dominant, posting 18 points and 11 rebounds, and front court buddy Chevon Troutman was also solid as he registered 13 and eight of his own.

KK Buducnost Voli 57-72 Alba Berlin

Alba Berlin finished their dominant regular season campaign with an easy 15-point win over KK Buducnost Voli. The losing side still managed a place in the Last 16 finishing with a 3-3 win-loss record.

Yassin Idbihi scored 21 for the Group H champs who surprisingly received a quiet performance from star point guard DaShaun Wood (four points, six assists).

Dexia Mons Hainaut 98-97 PGE Turow

In a game of no consequence, Dexia Mons Hainaut secured a one point win over PGE Turow. Neither side advances to the next round.

An exciting game nevertheless, Ronald Moore of Mons scored a put back bucket to tie the game at 74 each. 

Top-five contenders: Aris, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Panionios, PAOK

If NBA lockout had started before Greece’s economic crisis, we probably would have seen many more NBA players playing in Europe this season.

Olympiacos Piraeus was a pioneer of signing NBA role players, not bench warmers, in Europe and was also one of the most active off-season teams in last few years. The Reds shocked the basketball world by signing Josh Childress back in 2008 and bringing players like Von Wafer and Linas Kleiza. Olympiacos was even trying to sign Nate Robinson or Stephon Marbury when the lockout was far away.

However, while other Euroleague teams were trying to decide which NBA player they want to have on their squad, Olympiacos was just a spectator due to Greece's economic climate. Piraeus, who also once signed big names, filled roster spots with cheaper players and NCAA graduates.

Despite all the financial problems, Olympiacos should reach the Greek league finals, where they’ll meet their biggest rivals Panathinaikos Athens, the main favorite to win the league (as usual). Panathinaikos is led by Dimitris Diamantidis, Nick Calathes and Mike Batiste.

The Greens has won ten championships in a row and still counting. The most successful European basketball club of last decade began the new decade by winning Euroleague last season and seems to be head and shoulders better than any of their opponents in Greece.

NBA players in Greece:

Jon Diebler (Portland Trail Blazers) - Panionios (no NBA-out)