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The afternoon, for Panathinaikos, went exactly as Ergin Ataman wanted. The champions won with typical comfort over Peristeriou with… having “cleaned up” from the first half, with the Turkish coach seeing his players put behind them the defeat by Olympiakos and at the same time having the possibility to divide the time to everyone so that he can have his team fresh for Tuesday’s match with Maccabi again at OAKA.
Leading the way for the winners was Panagiotis Kalaitzakis who had an excellent performance with 16 points, with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals, while Lorenzo Brown stopped at 17 points with Nan and Papapetrou each having 12 points. In the end, Dimitris Moraitis “stolen” the show as well, scoring 3 out of 3 three-pointers and experiencing the apotheosis of Kostas Sloukas.
Panathinaikos’ start to the game was sluggish and relaxed, despite the home team’s quick 4-0. Peristeri tried to go to a fast pace, the “greens” defensively did absolutely nothing and after 4-0 became 4-4, the guests with consecutive Carberry three-pointers made the score 7-10 after four minutes of play. Somewhere along the way, Ataman’s players decided to play defense and combined with Brown’s fast pace, the champions went on an 8-0 run to take a 15-10 lead with four minutes to go. With baskets by Nan and Yurtseven, the streak reached 13-0, with Peristeri remaining without a point for five minutes and Vangelis Zougris putting an end to his team’s “scorching” for 20-12, one minute before the end of the first period.
Panathinaikos “cleaned up” in the second half of the period
The pace did not pick up in the second quarter with Panathinaikos leading 22-15 and Ergin Ataman benching Kendrick Nunn and playing with Jerian Grant and 4 forwards. But something that didn’t last long, since Peristeri found easy points, with Avdala stepping on the floor and helping the team. In fact, the Greek player made it 26-20 with a three-pointer, getting the applause from the crowd of Panathinaikos, with the team of Limniatis making a mini-series 2-8 and making it 28-24. The Turkish coach with constant changes was trying to find the five that would give him a good margin, with Papapetrou making it 33-24 with a three-pointer and a foul, four minutes before the end of the first half. Another 3-pointer, this time by Cedi Osman, made it 11 points (for the first time), 28-27, with Xanthopoulos impressive on defense and offense, but Jerian Grant adding another 3-pointer for the team of for 41-30. Osman and Papapetrou “turned up” in the last minutes and sent their team ahead to the locker room with a score of 46-31.
Kalaitzakis “cut”… Moraitis “sewed”
It was clear that the second half was.. procedural in nature. The difference of 15 points may not be a difference that cannot be overturned, but the “greens” gradually stepped on the gas, at the moment when Peristeri did try, but did not seem able to follow. In the first part of the quarter, Nan had his “gun” and “led” Panathinaikos to 53-39, while afterwards Giorgos Kalaitzakis took the baton being excellent and a flurry of three-pointers from both sides “led” us to 67-51 with 30 minutes to play. Nothing could change afterwards, with Ataman dividing the time, Kalaitzakis continuing to be excellent, Papapetrou with a three-pointer reaching the difference to 25 points, 87-62. Panathinaikos was unstoppable until the end, as Dimitris Moraitis also entered the three-pointer equation and with 3 out of 3 three-pointers he signed the final 104 – 68.
The Decades: 22-15, 46-31, 67-51, 104-68
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