By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos was defeated a few weeks ago in Istanbul, but this time around things were different for the new team of coach Ergin Ataman.
The Greek powerhouse, thanks to a stellar night by Marius Grigonis who finished the game with 24 points on a personal best 7/9 threes, managed to get a crucial 83-76 win over Efes
Kendrick Nunn and Kostas Mitoglou added 14 points each for the winning side, while Rodrigue Beaubois with 16 points, and Tibor Pleiss with 13 were the top scorers of the losing side.
“It’s fun, but the most important thing is that we won the game in this brutal schedule, but we play again, so there’s no time to celebrate“, said Grigonis adding: “I feel I was always this player, one bad season will not take anything for me. Assistant coach Christos Serelis wanted to keep me when everyone else had lost faith in me, that’s why I didn’t play for the national team, to prepare for the season”.
Thanks to this result Panathinaikos got a 12-8 record, good enough for a tie on the fourth spot, while Efes dropped to 7-13, three wins away from the play-in line.
An easy Green start but a thrilling ending
The hosts completely dominated the first half, getting a 16-point advantage (51-35) as Grigonis already had 15 points and his team led by 18 (43-25).
Efes tried to turn the table in the second half and to an extent they did, trimming the lead to nine (66-57) in the 27th minute and to six (76-60) with five minutes left.
“We played great defense in the first half, especially to Shane Larkin”, said Panathinaikos coach Ergin Ataman with his former star finishing the night with just nine points, “but in the second, they took some risks with Pleiss, we were focused in the backcourt, and they never gave up”.
Efes lost four chances to get any closer, with Kostas Antetokounmpo blocking emphatically Tibor Pleiss in one of them, and finally, Rodrique Beaubois made a big three (76-73).
Pleiss missed the chance to tie the game with a three, Jerian Grant made it (79-73) and Panathinaikos entered the last minute with a six-point cushion. Kostas Sloukas added two crucial free throws (81-73) for a total of nine points and nine assists and the game was over.
“In the first half we were sleeping and when in the second half we woke up, it was not enough to win the game”, admitted Efes coach Erdem Can.
PHOTO CREDIT: Eurokinissi