Panathinaikos caught its breath in the Greek league final and beat Olympiacos 68:58, leveling the series at 1:1. But the number that matters most isn't the score - it's Olympiacos's first defeat in the Greek championship this season. The unbeaten run fell exactly when it hurt most.

Nigel Hayes-Davis led the Greens with 23 points, and the turnaround came not from attack but from defense. In the second half Panathinaikos held Olympiacos to just 28 points - when the opponent can't score, you don't need magic up front, just patience and discipline at the back.

The start gave no hint of a night like this. Olympiacos opened on a 7:0 run and dictated the game in the early minutes. But Panathinaikos slowly found its rhythm, melted the gap and the first quarter ended 15:9 for the Greens. At halftime the visitors led by just a point, 30:29.

The turnaround came after the break. Panathinaikos raised the intensity on both ends of the floor, controlled the third quarter and built a 48:38 lead before the final period. Olympiacos tried to respond but never seriously threatened - Evan Fournier with 15 points was the only one clicking on offense, and one player doesn't pull a team out of a bad night.

The series is now level and everything starts over. For the Balkan basketball fan, the Greek finals are close to home - the same intensity, the same EuroLeague names, the same drama we know from our own derbies. Olympiacos lost something more than a game tonight: it lost the aura of invincibility it had built all season.