2009-06-02 00:03:02 -

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Panathinaikos defeated archrival Olympiakos 94-81 on Monday to prevail 3-1 in the Greek league playoff finals and win its 11th championship over the last 12 years.
The Athens club completed a rare triple, having won the Euroleague a month ago and the Greek Cup in April. It had also achieved the triple in 2007.
Guards Drew Nicholas and Vassilis Spanoulis led Panathinaikos in scoring with 17 points each.
The match was close in the first half, which ended 47-44, but Panathinaikos appeared to be in trouble when its center and top playoffs scorer, Nikola Pekovic, picked up his fourth foul with 3:34 left in the second quarter. Guard Sarunas Jasikevicius quickly picked up his second and third fouls and, like Pekovic, was a non-factor in the second half.
Olympiakos kept things close in the third quarter, which ended 67-62, but went through a disastrous three and a half minutes at the start of the final period to fall behind 82-67. The sequence included a rare four-point play _ a 3-point shot plus a free throw _ by seldom-used veteran guard Nikos Hatzivretas. Olympiakos could not get closer than nine points the rest of the way.
Nicholas, who won the NCAA title with Maryland in 2002, last month became the fourth player to win both the NCAA and Euroleague title following Tyus Edney and Jiri Zidek (both UCLA 1995, Zalgiris 1999) and Tony Delk (Kentucky 1996, Panathinaikos 2007).
«A season like this is difficult to repeat. When things went a bit rough earlier this year, my players responded very well. Many of them were not in good condition after the European championship. They are all heroes to me...this team has character,» said Panathinaikos coach Zelimir Obradovic.

In 10 seasons at Panathinaikos, Obradovic has won nine Greek and four European championships, as well as six Greek cups.
Point guard Lynn Greer led Olympiakos' scorers with 21 points. Forward Josh Childress, the former Atlanta swingman who bolted the NBA last summer to become the highest-paid player in Europe, was limited to just 10 points.