By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Aside from the opening points, Panathinaikos OPAP was constantly in the lead against Real Madrid and deservedly logged an 87-86 home win, in a far more convincing manner than the final score indicates.
This was the first win for Panathinaikos against Real Madrid since the 2018 playoffs and 13 straight games that went to Real Madrid’s favor.
The Green improved to 8-18 and for the moment leave the bottom of the Euroleague standings. Meanwhile, the Spaniards hold an 18-9 record in the third spot, with the same number of wins as Olympiacos (18-9) and Olimpia Milano (18-8).
Georgios Papagiannis led the way with a double-double of 18 points (9-11 FG), ten rebounds, and five blocks while Ioannis Papapetrou had 15 points. Jeremy Evans and Nemanja Nedovic scored 13 each.
Papagiannis had extra motivation for this game and he ended up delivering.
“Against Maccabi, I didn’t do a good job but today with the last home game of the season I wanted to give my best from the beginning until the final buzzer sounded. I’m really happy that we beat Madrid here because we have lost many games to them. We have two more games away and want to finish the season successfully… I got motivation every game, but especially tonight against Edy [Tavares]. He’s a really good player and I think it was a great matchup for both of us.”
For Real Madrid, Thomas Heurtel scored 18, Sergio Llull added 15 points followed by Walter Tavares and Gabriel Deck with 12 each. Tavares also grabbed 12 rebounds.
Panathinaikos took off strong with a 22-9 run and that lead allowed the Greens to play more freely throughout the game. Real Madrid made a comeback effort in the third quarter with a 10-0 run (56-54) sparked by Tavares, Llull and Rudy Fernandez but that wasn’t enough.
PAO still managed to stay ahead and eventually break the opponent with a 7-0 run (76-63) midway through the fourth quarter. Papagiannis and Daryl Macon Jr had a crucial role for the winning side during those moments.
Madridistas managed to make one final comeback but it was far too late to change anything and they didn’t have a clear chance at the win despite the final score.
Coach Pablo Laso was also aware that the bad beginning set the tone for the rest of the match.
“We started with no concentration. We let them get into the game. They got a quick lead. We fought the rest of the game to get back. They played very good. But I think the worst thing was our beginning of the game. We didn’t understand anything and we let them get the lead – not just on the scoreboard but also on defense and offense. We fought so much to get back into it but it was not enough.”