Panathinaikos lost 3-0 at Russian giants Dinamo Moscow (25-22, 25-23, 25-23) on Wednesday and finished bottom of their group with five points from six games.
However they are boosted by the
acquisition of Brazilian outside hitter Marcelo Sacchi, formerly of Kifissia, just in time for the big derby against Olympiakos on Sunday at Glyfada.
Olympiakos in turn lost 3-2 at home to Budva from Montenegro and were also last in their pool with five points.
Their best player, Dimitris Djuric has shaken off an injury and will be available for selection by coach Yiannis Kalmazidis for the Sunday derby.
Meanwhile, EA Patras did it the hard way but managed to see off Romanian side Unirea Dej to reach the last eight of the Challenge Cup.
Having won in Romania, the Peloponnesian side lost 3-2 (24-26,25-23,25-16,22-25,15-12) at home on Wednesday, but went through after winning the ensuing "golden set" 15-12.
In the quarterfinals they will face Estonian side Tallinn next month.
Epikouros triumph
In league games played on Wednesday after being postponed in late December, Epikouros Thessaloniki upset neighboring Apollon Kalamarias to win 3-1 away (25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 25-20), while Lamia maintained their perfect home record with a 3-0 win over Ethnikos Alexandroupolis (25-22, 25-18, 25-14).
source: sportingreece
