13/07/2020 11:00
Panathinaikos crowned Greek champions for first time in 14 years
News from the National Federations
Athens, Greece, July 13, 2020. Panathinaikos ATHENS have dethroned archrivals Olympiacos PIRAEUS to claim their 19th national title as the Greek Men’s League wrapped up on Sunday, following its restart earlier this month after several months of break due to the coronavirus crisis and resulting lockdown.
The two rivals clashed in a best-of-three final series of the Playoffs, with the Athens side winning back-to-back matches 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-19) and 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-13).
Alexandros Raptis, Panathinaikos’ 20-year-old opposite received the award for the Most Valuable Player of the season. He was top scorer in both matches of the final series, after switching from the outside hitter position for the Playoffs, successfully replacing Serbia’s international Sasa Starovic in this role.
Raptis was the second-best overall scorer of the regular season with a total of 276 points, trailing only Iraklis Papadopoulos of Pamvohaikos VRACHATI who topped the charts on 281.
MVP Alexandros Raptis awarded after securing the Greek League title with Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos returned to the top of the podium of the Greek championship after a 14-year hiatus - with their previous title dating to 2006. However, their 19 men’s national titles still fall way short of the 29 won by Olympiacos – an all-time record in Greek Volleyball.
Earlier this season and before the coronavirus-related lockdown, Panathinaikos had won the League Cup as well, overwhelming Olympiacos in a ‘Golden Set’ after their home-and-away final series had resulted in one victory apiece.
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