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The first big derby match of the season to be played before empty stands

Olympiacos are under suspension, and they won't have it easy against Panathinaikos who are coming to the new season stronger thanks to Đorđević joining the team

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Olympiacos have had a very successful season, finally getting the champions title. Spanoulis and his company were also very close to winning the Euroleague. Real Madrid were better in their own arena in the final, but the only objective failure for Olympiacos was getting eliminated in the Cup quarterfinal, against Panathinaikos who weren't even ready enough. That defeat ended the coach Bartzokas.

The great rivals will face each other again in the same phase of the competition. This time, it will be played in Olympiacos's arena, but the stands will be empty.

Olympiacos made lots of changes this summer, but their most important duo, Spanoulis-Printezis, are still here. Beside them, there's Mantzaris and Lojeski, and the wing center Hunter. Lafayette, Darden and Sloukas are gone, as are Dunston and Petway who played an important role under the hoop. However, good replacements were brought. D.J. Strawberry and Daniel Hackett reinforced the back line, and Young and Milutinov were brought as centers. They'll be a big support in the paint. Olympiacos have every right to aim for the highest goals this season in all the competitions. Sferopoulos is still their coach, and he bases everything on the defense. He satisfied everyone in the club with what he's done so far, so his contract got prolonged for three more seasons.

- We want to play defense that's just as good, and even better. The reinforcements were brought with that in mind, we want to be even more homogeneous than the last season - Sferopoulos said.

The preseason showed already that Oly will be playing fantastic defense this season as well, and it should be pointed out that they were without their best players for most of the preseason matches. They were playing the Eurobasket. With Spanoulis and Printezis at their best, Olympiacos will get the game they want offensively, as well, and that gives them every right to go for all three trophies. 

The first matches are always tough, and this one already means a fight for the first trophy. Hats off to the other teams, but this is the final before the final, and it's very likely that whoever wins this match, will also win the trophy in December. Olympiacos's job will be made harder because they have to play without the support of their fans, and Sferopoulos won't be able to use Hunter and Kavvadas, but that shouldn't influence their game too much.

Preseason matches: Trikala 92-60, Kifisia 73-68, Sassari 63-68, Galatasaray 68-65, Limoges 60-50, Zadar 85-62, Bayern 60-77, Darussafaka 61-57, Arkadikos 101-57

Panathinaikos used Olympiacos's weaker performance at the beginning of the last season, and beat them in the quarterfinal, which helped them win the Cup. However, they weren't an even opponent to the big rival in the rest of the season. The team from Athens reinforced their lines this summer, and this season should make them a lot more competitive. 

- I believe we'll be much better than we were last season - Diamantidis said.

It should be said right away that Saša Đorđević took over, and he assembled the team to his taste. Raduljica and Kuzmić, whom he was leading in the national team, were brought to Panathinaikos, and Saša Pavlović came from Partizan. There are other new faces - the Dominican Feldeine and the point guard Caalathes, who should both play an important role in the new Panathinaikos. Compared to the last season, the scorer Slaughter, the centers Mavrokefalidis and Batista are missing, as well as some other players from the rotation (Blums, Nelson...). However, the icon Diamantidis and Janković. Pappas, Fotsis and Gist are still here.

- We'll have a lot of energy on the court. For us, everything starts with the defense - Papagiannis said.

 It'll be interesting to see what Panathinaikos will look like with Đorđević leading the team. When he was leading Serbia, they'd score a lot of points, but Serbia have Teodosić in their lineup. The only defeat Panathinaikos got in the preseason was in the Gomelsky Cup final, when Teodosić scored the free throws for his team's win. However, beating UNICS and an even match at CSKA's court confirmed Panathinaikos are in a good form, and are pretty ready for this match.

The only ones out for Panathinaikos today are Pappas and Bochoridis, and all the strongest players are in.

- A tough start, but we'll be ready - Đorđević said.

Preseason matches: Rethymno 88-53 and 61-55, Partizan 66-56, Lions 83-64, Guandong 85-63, UNICS 89-74, CSKA 80-81