Recommendations to attend a game at OAKA

[ArizonaDream]

Hello,

I'm a foreigner and I consider attending a game at OAKA but since it will already be the end of the season in a few weeks, I don't have many options. Knowing that I'm looking for a game between two great teams that will provide me with an amazing atmosphere, I have narrowed my search between the following matchups:

Panathinaikos - Paris

Or

Panathinaikos - Crvena Zvesda for the last game of the season.


1) Do you think any of these games could meet my expectations?

2) Considering their actual ranking and their goals, is their a risk to see one of the teams lose on purpose to be able to meet a weaker opponent in the playoffs?

3) Do you think that the best players might be benched on the last game of the season?

4) Which of these games game would you recommend me to attend?

5) Do you think any of these games could provide me with a close to playoffs atmosphere?

6) Finally, is it that hard to find playoffs tickets?

Thanks a lot for your help


Any recommendations between one of these 2 games? Which one do you advise me to attend at the OAKA? Which match up will offer the best atmosphere and what team is going to show the best adversity for a nice game knowing their upcoming schedule?

[Airman]

Hello,

I'm a foreigner and I consider attending a game at OAKA but since it will already be the end of the season in a few weeks, I don't have many options. Knowing that I'm looking for a game between two great teams that will provide me with an amazing atmosphere, I have narrowed my search between the following matchups:

Panathinaikos - Paris

Or

Panathinaikos - Crvena Zvesda for the last game of the season.


1) Do you think any of these games could meet my expectations?

2) Considering their actual ranking and their goals, is their a risk to see one of the teams lose on purpose to be able to meet a weaker opponent in the playoffs?

3) Do you think that the best players might be benched on the last game of the season?

4) Which of these games game would you recommend me to attend?

5) Do you think any of these games could provide me with a close to playoffs atmosphere?

6) Finally, is it that hard to find playoffs tickets?

Thanks a lot for your help


Any recommendations between one of these 2 games? Which one do you advise me to attend at the OAKA? Which match up will offer the best atmosphere and what team is going to show the best adversity for a nice game knowing their upcoming schedule?

Hi,
First of all, I am sorry about my English. It is a real mess I suppose.
The answers for your quests;
1. Yes
2. I suppose no, but I would prefer to watch PAO vs Pari, as it is not at the end of regular season, so there is no reason of playing for losing the game.
3. I suppose the answer is no for both of these games
4. Vs PARI
5. maybe vs Crvena Zvesda, as it is a traditional rival team
6. YES for sure.

[ArizonaDream]

Thank you very much for your useful message. Your English is good! I understood it very well.

Would it be better to come for the playoffs instead? or do you think it would be too difficult to find a ticket knowing that I would like to plan my trip in advance

[shaq7]

Thank you very much for your useful message. Your English is good! I understood it very well.

Would it be better to come for the playoffs instead? or do you think it would be too difficult to find a ticket knowing that I would like to plan my trip in advance

You could probably find expensive seats tickets for the playoffs...but it would be worth it in your situation.

[ArizonaDream]

Thank you very much for your useful message. Your English is good! I understood it very well.

Would it be better to come for the playoffs instead? or do you think it would be too difficult to find a ticket knowing that I would like to plan my trip in advance

You could probably find expensive seats tickets for the playoffs...but it would be worth it in your situation.

Expensive like a couple hundreds of euros ?

I have tried to buy playoffs tickets last year for the first round against Maccabi but I never managed to find any
despite that was one of the first in the queue

That's why I considered attending a season's game but I would obviously prefer watching a playoffs game

[nikolas_asteri]

Hi,

1. That's impossible to say. Depending on who you ask, Paris is fun to watch but the game against Red Star is closer to a classic Euroleague game (whatever that means).

2. No one can really know.

3. Depends on whether the teams are still playing for something.

4. That's a difficult decision. If Paris and Pao keep winning then that game might be super important for both. If one of them slips until then the game might be useful only to one. Following the same reasoning, the alst game of the season might be super important or it might be a dud. Impossible to tell.

5. If there is something at play then the Red Star game most probably.

6. It will be extremely hard. You either have to time your position at the queue (and get lucky) or you're gonna have to get expensive tickets. No, not a couple of hundred, probably 400+.

Generally it's impossible to predict which game is going to be a good one. Just get tickets to either one and cross your fingers

[Giwrgos_AEK]

Thank you very much for your useful message. Your English is good! I understood it very well.

Would it be better to come for the playoffs instead? or do you think it would be too difficult to find a ticket knowing that I would like to plan my trip in advance

I would propose you to attend also an AEK Athens championship game.
They are the emerging power of Europe

[ArizonaDream]

Hi,

1. That's impossible to say. Depending on who you ask, Paris is fun to watch but the game against Red Star is closer to a classic Euroleague game (whatever that means).

2. No one can really know.

3. Depends on whether the teams are still playing for something.

4. That's a difficult decision. If Paris and Pao keep winning then that game might be super important for both. If one of them slips until then the game might be useful only to one. Following the same reasoning, the alst game of the season might be super important or it might be a dud. Impossible to tell.

5. If there is something at play then the Red Star game most probably.

6. It will be extremely hard. You either have to time your position at the queue (and get lucky) or you're gonna have to get expensive tickets. No, not a couple of hundred, probably 400+.

Generally it's impossible to predict which game is going to be a good one. Just get tickets to either one and cross your fingers

Thank you for your detailed answer!

Doesn't the fact that the last playoffs spots are awarded via a play-in system this year reduce the chances of seeing teams making calculations and lose on purpose to to avoid an opponent?

400 euros a pretty expensive price yeah

[ArizonaDream]

Thank you very much for your useful message. Your English is good! I understood it very well.

Would it be better to come for the playoffs instead? or do you think it would be too difficult to find a ticket knowing that I would like to plan my trip in advance

I would propose you to attend also an AEK Athens championship game.
They are the emerging power of Europe

Yeah! That could a great idea one day. I have already seen AEK playing I Strasbourg one day and I keep a great souvenir but it was quite a long time ago

[ArizonaDream]

To give more informations, I have 2 options.

Either I can include a stopover in Athens as part of a trip abroad which means that I could watch the Panathinaikos - Red Star game before catching my international flight from Athens and then come back home in France. A greek friend of mine already got tickets for the game so I won't have to pay for it. The only concern is that I'm afraid it won't be a great game since it will be the last of the season. My international trip will end around the 28th of April so I could still decide to come back in Athens to watch a playoffs game in case I find tickets but the first round will probably be over at that time unless there is a game 5

Or I can plan a 2-3 days weekend in Athens for the Panathinaikos - Paris game, come back home and then organize my international trip so that there is a stop in Athens around the 22nd of April which could offers me the opportunity to be there for the entire first round of the playoffs at home. But it might imply landing back in Athens for nothing if I don't find any playoffs tickets

[SteveNashidis]

I would propose you to attend also an AEK Athens championship game.
They are the emerging power of Europe

Yeah! That could a great idea one day. I have already seen AEK playing I Strasbourg one day and I keep a great souvenir but it was quite a long time ago

Welcome to our basketball forum.
Enjoy your time here.
Where are you from?

[ArizonaDream]

Yeah! That could a great idea one day. I have already seen AEK playing I Strasbourg one day and I keep a great souvenir but it was quite a long time ago

Welcome to our basketball forum.
Enjoy your time here.
Where are you from?

Thank you very much! I'm from France (Strasbourg). Well actually I'm half French / Greek and I even have an home near Korinthos but I don't speak Greek that well

[nikolas_asteri]

To give more informations, I have 2 options.

Either I can include a stopover in Athens as part of a trip abroad which means that I could watch the Panathinaikos - Red Star game before catching my international flight from Athens and then come back home in France. A greek friend of mine already got tickets for the game so I won't have to pay for it. The only concern is that I'm afraid it won't be a great game since it will be the last of the season. My international trip will end around the 28th of April so I could still decide to come back in Athens to watch a playoffs game in case I find tickets but the first round will probably be over at that time unless there is a game 5

Or I can plan a 2-3 days weekend in Athens for the Panathinaikos - Paris game, come back home and then organize my international trip so that there is a stop in Athens around the 22nd of April which could offers me the opportunity to be there for the entire first round of the playoffs at home. But it might imply landing back in Athens for nothing if I don't find any playoffs tickets

If you’re asking for my opinion then you shouldn’t make the game the focal point of your trip. Organize it in a way that you’ll have fun in Athens and the game can be an added bonus. If going to the game is *the* purpose then I would probably go to the Red Star game which is certain (since your friend has tickets). A seat in the playoffs is a gamble and it might need better preparation (like for example buying flexible plane tickets so that if you didn’t manage to get them, you can have a backup plan).

[ArizonaDream]

To give more informations, I have 2 options.

Either I can include a stopover in Athens as part of a trip abroad which means that I could watch the Panathinaikos - Red Star game before catching my international flight from Athens and then come back home in France. A greek friend of mine already got tickets for the game so I won't have to pay for it. The only concern is that I'm afraid it won't be a great game since it will be the last of the season. My international trip will end around the 28th of April so I could still decide to come back in Athens to watch a playoffs game in case I find tickets but the first round will probably be over at that time unless there is a game 5

Or I can plan a 2-3 days weekend in Athens for the Panathinaikos - Paris game, come back home and then organize my international trip so that there is a stop in Athens around the 22nd of April which could offers me the opportunity to be there for the entire first round of the playoffs at home. But it might imply landing back in Athens for nothing if I don't find any playoffs tickets

If you’re asking for my opinion then you shouldn’t make the game the focal point of your trip. Organize it in a way that you’ll have fun in Athens and the game can be an added bonus. If going to the game is *the* purpose then I would probably go to the Red Star game which is certain (since your friend has tickets). A seat in the playoffs is a gamble and it might need better preparation (like for example buying flexible plane tickets so that if you didn’t manage to get them, you can have a backup plan).

Thank you for your very interesting point of view.

To be honest, going to a game is the only purpose of my stop in Athens cause I already know the city and it's surroundings very well. But surprisingly, adding a stopover in Greece as a part of my trip is actually cheaper than simply choosing direct flights from the airports around my hometown so I won't lose any money doing so which is a good thing.

The only difference is that in option 1 I will stop first in Athens to see the games against Red Star and then catch my flight so I won't be in Greece for nothing but I will surely miss the playoffs cause my trip is going to end late

And in option 2 I have to make a round trip to Athens a week before my international trip if I want to secure a seat for the game against Paris which is still possible and then I will start my main trip and end it in Athens at the right time for the playoffs. But as you said, it might be a stop for nothing if I don't find tickets for the playoffs

Total Price for both options will be exactly the same (tickets for the game mentioned + flight tickets)

[ArizonaDream]

By the way, have you already bought tickets on Viagogo for a game in Greece? What if the name on the tickets doesn't match yours? I don't plan to buy a ticket there but I have always been curious