By Eurohoops Team / info@eurohoops.net
Ioannis Papapetrou scored a season-high 22 points as Panathinaikos beat Alba Berlin 92 – 69 in Athens to bounce back after the double-overtime loss to Real Madrid that took place in the same arena 48 hours ago.
“The most important thing was the win,” Papapetrou said to EuroLeague TV after the match. In the previous season, he had scored a career-high 39 points vs. Alba at home, in a loss. “And we won, that was the difference.”
“We try to keep building and getting better every game,” Papapetrou added. “I think what’s next is a little rest as now we are tired, we played too many games in the last 10 days and we need to rest and prepare for the next week.”
Nemanja Nedovic dropped 11 out of his 13 points in the second half, Howard Sant-Roos added 13 points of his own while George Papagiannis posted 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks for Panathinaikos that led from near-start to finish. The hosts made 11-18 3-pointers in the second half and en route to having their highest scoring game in a win this season.
Niels Giffey (13 points), Peyton Siva (11 points, six assists) and Luke Sikma (11 points, five rebounds) scored in double figures for Alba that was coming off a road win over Crvena Zvezda.
“I want to congratulate Panathinaikos, because they played very well, with good energy,” Alba coach Aito Reneses said. “They beat us by a lot of points in the end, but with 7 minutes left we still had options, although but they played very well in those minutes.”
A 40-minute effort
What mattered above all else for Panathinaikos coach George Vovoras was that his players were consistently strong on the defensive end to ultimately get a comfortable victory.
“When you play defense for the 40 minutes, a great defense, which is what you need against this team, you can win,” Vovoras said. “They know the fundamentals; they play great offensively. If you play good defense, good feelings come and we can score, this is what basketball is all about… We were also effective with their offense, with their passing game and we read their tactics, so it’s a fair win for us after all.”