By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Following the narrow home loss to AX Armani Exchange Milan on Friday, Panathinaikos OPAP filed a complaint to Euroleague Basketball about the referees Sreten Radovic, Carlos Corters and Saso Petek, in charge of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 28 contest.
The Greens were forced down to 7-19, after being defeated by the Italian outfit, 76-75. They managed to dig their way out of a double-digit hole in the fourth quarter. Experienced Kyle Hines separated the Round 28 opponents with the game-winning free throw. On its part, the Italian outlet, ranked third overall in Europe’s premier club continental competition, jumped to 18-8, to trail Real Madrid by two games and leading FC Barcelona by three games.
Besides the complaint, Panathinaikos confirmed a couple of positive COVID-19 tests among players on Sunday.
The team coached by Dimitris Priftis is scheduled to visit Ionikos tomorrow, Monday, and host Peristeri next week, before resuming the EuroLeague campaign against archrival Olympiacos. The Round 30 all-Greek meeting is set to take place on March 17 at the Peace and Friendship Stadium.
Captain Ioannis Papapetrou (nose) and Stefan Jovic (thigh) remained on the injury list to miss the recent game opposite Olimpia Milano. However, both players can potentially be cleared to return to action ahead of the next “eternal” Greek rivals’ clash.
At the domestic level, notching 12 wins in 13 games through Greece’s Stoiximan Basket League Regular Season, Panathinaikos sits in second place, half a game behind Olympiacos. The Reds carry a 13-1 W-L tally.