By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
It took a strenuous 40-minute effort but Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz finally registered its first victory of the season against Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (81-79) in Round 3 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
The Greek side started the game on a good note and had a 17-15 advantage after the first quarter, though the hosts’ productivity in the second period granted them a five-point lead at halftime (40-35).
After a head-to-head battle in the second half and with under a minute to go in the game, Daryl Macon evened the score at 79 points with a three-pointer for Panathinaikos, though he later on committed a foul on Jayson Granger and the pair of free throws meant to seal the final result for Baskonia. Ioannis Papapetrou tried to change the outcome with an attempted three-pointer in the last ten seconds, though his effort fell short.
“We needed it. We struggled the first two games against Olympiacos and Milan and this is a statement that Baskonia wants to be up there. […] With this extra boost now, we’ve got another tough game on the road against ALBA, but I think we did positive things today and we have to be happy”, commented Granger after the win.
Rokas Giedraitis and Simone Fontecchio both added 16 points to lead Dusko Ivanovic’s squad to their first victory of the new season, while Tadas Sedekerskis added 15 points and Granger signed off with 12, along with 9 assists.
Papapetrou was the leading scorer of this intense showdown with 22 points and four assists and Daryl Macon added 13 as the Greens slipped to a 1-2 record.
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Photo: EuroLeague