Iraklis and Olympiakos had to come from behind to maintain their
home advantage in the semifinal series of the league on Wednesday. They both lead 1-0 after Game 1 on an impressive evening of volleyball, as both games went to tie-breaks. Iraklis, who finished the league's regular season on top, conceded the first set in just 20 minutes with a 25-15 score, but when they fell 2-1 down, taking the second 25-17 and losing the third 25-22, they outplayed PAOK in the last couple of sets to win 3-2.
In the fourth set Iraklis turned a 9-6 deficit to a 12-9 lead, to win the set 25-20, and took the tie-break 15-10 when they scored six unanswered points from 8-7 to 14-7.
The second game of the best-of-three series is on April 9 at PAOK's home court.
In the other semifinal Panathinaikos took the first couple of sets, just as they had done four days earlier for the regular season, to lead 2-0 at Rendi (27-25, 25-21) after appearing stronger at the end of each set.
However, led by Cuban star Rolando Despaigne, Olympiakos fought back to take the third set 25-15, the fourth 25-19 and concluded their 3-2 victory with a 15-12 score at the tie-break.
Game 2 is on April 9 at Glyfada, Panathinaikos's home court.
source: SPORTINGREECE
