By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos gambled away an early lead but still managed to come out on top 75-67 against Rytas Vilnius.
Nemanja Nedovic led the way with 18 points while George Papagiannis added nine. Ioannis Papapetrou and Howard Sant-Roos were sidelined as a precautionary measure.
Demetrius Jackson scored game-high 24 points for Rytas followed by Andrew Goudelock with 19.
PAO was in control early on, leading 22-19 after ten minutes and 41-31 at halftime. They quickly rose up to a 20-point lead (54-34) in the third quarter but Rytas didn’t give up.
The Lithuanians cut the gap very fast in the fourth quarter, trailing by just four (66-62). They held on (71-67) but PAO made a small five to nothing run in the last minute to seal the deal.
Earlier, Khimki played its second game against PARMA in five days and once again grabbed a narrow win, this time with 73-69 on the scoreboard.
Alexey Shved, Stefan Jovic, Sergey Karasev, Jordan Mickey, Greg Monroe, and Errick McCollum weren’t available to the squad due to injuries or not arriving yet in Russia while Evgeny Voronov returned.
Devin Booker and Jannis Timma were leading the team to victory with crucial three-point shots, especially when PARMA managed to bounce back from an early deficit.
PHOTOS: BC Rytas / Rokas Lukoševičius