By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Nemanja Nedovic and Vassilis Kavvadas kept Panathinaikos OPAP Athens intact against Crvena Zvezda, lifting their team to a 79-73 win in Round 27 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague at home.
Nedovic led all scorers of the game with 25 points and 5 assists, while Kavvadas dropped a new career-high with 17 points, including a key two-point jumper with 32 seconds to play to give Panathinaikos a four-point lead.
Nikola Kalinic shortly answered to make it a two-point game again, yet Nedovic stepped up with another clutch play with 23 seconds to go, to help Panathinaikos grab the win.
“We showed some character, we had so many players missing today,” said coach Dimitris Priftis after the game. “We lived without Papagiannis, and I’m glad that we did that, and that we combined it with winning the game, so congrats to the players. We have to use this day for the future.”
Among absences, Georgios Papagiannis was featured on Panathinaikos’ rotation, though he rested, as earlier on Friday he competed with the Greek NT in the FIBA World Cup qualifier game against Turkey.
The Greens returned from the one-week break with their second consecutive victory in EuroLeague to improve to a 7-17 record in the overall standings.
Aaron White posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Serbian side that has now dropped to 9-15. Austin Hollins had 13 points, Kalinic followed with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists while Luka Mitrovic and Nate Wolters picked up 10 points apiece.
Photo credit: Eurokinissi