Basketball / Gershon and Olympiacos dumped out of Greek Cup

Pini Gershon's first official game in charge of Olympiacos at The Peace and Friendship Arena in Piraeus last night was held in almost surreal silence.

On any other night, almost 20,000 fanatic fans would have turned out to watch the first Athens derby of the season, but a crowd ban from last season meant that Olympiacos hosted Panathinaikos in front of empty stands.

Gershon may well be pleased in fact that no one was on hand to watch him lose to his nemesis, Zlejco Obradovic.

The Serb's instructions echoed around the empty arena. "Becirovic, Becirovic," bellowed Obradovic in the fourth quarter, as he called for the ball to go to the Slovenian waiting behind the arc at the low post.

The combo guard, who arrived over the summer from Climamio Bologna, has seen his career hit by injury; yesterday, however, he showed what he is capable of. Becirovic hit 18 points as he led Panathinaikos to a 79-71 win and knocked Olympiacos out of the Greek Cup.

Pana returnee Dejan Tomasevic, who started at the expense of Robertas Javtokas, followed with 14 points, showing that at the age of 33 he has the technique and the understanding to more than make up for his lack of athleticism.

Becirovic and Tomasevic yesterday demonstrated the difference between the way the two clubs built their rosters over the summer.

While Gershon brought in a star-studded pack, including two NBA veterans, and replaced most of last season's roster, Obradovic continued with the backbone of the team ( Dimitris Diamantidis, Mike Batiste and Kostas Tsartsaris) while bringing in experienced Europeans. The results were evident last night.

Olympiacos opened well thanks to an efficient zone defense, but Panathinaikos came back to lead 23-22 at the end of the first quarter. Gershon relied heavily on Sofoklis 'Baby Shaq' Schortsanitis, who repaid his faith by leading a 10-0 run as Olympiacos and Gershon went to the interval with a 39-35 lead.

The second half was neck-and-neck, with Gershon using a few of his favorite tricks from his Maccabi Tel Aviv days, such as a pick-and-roll followed by a pass between the big men. Obradovic for his part played the zone and put the ball in the hands of Becirovic and Diamantidis.

With three minutes to go, Pana opened up a six-point lead on a three-point play from Tomasevic, and never looked back.