By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Bayern almost closed the first half of the season without a home defeat. However, Panathinaikos became the first team to prevail over the Germans in Munich and also secured the tiebreaker over them with two wins in the regular season.
The final score was 80-69 as the Greeks defended perfectly and also got 27 points from Kendric Nunn, 15 from Kostas Mitoglou, 14 from Jerian Grant, and 11 points plus eight assists by Kostas Sloukas.
“As I told you before the game, somebody would win here and we were the first candidates to do it, because we have the experience and the power to do it”, said after the game Panathinaikos coach Ergin Ataman.
Thanks to this result Panathinaikos and Bayern are tied at 11-7, one win behind the top spot of the standings.
Andreas Obst scored 19 points for the losing side, which had just 9/34 threes.
It was also the first game of newcomer Wenyen Gabriel, who added six points, eight rebounds, and five blocks for the winning side, being a factor in the game.
An electric finish for Panathinaikos
Despite a 9-0 start for Bayern in less than three minutes of play, the rest of the first period was quite sloppy as Panathinaikos evened things out and trailed by three (16-13) after 10 minutes of action.
Still, with the Greens stopping the hosts’ transition, Panathinaikos started the second quarter with a 9-2 run to take a 22-18 lead. The guests stretched their advantage to 10 points (30-20) with Dinos Mitoglou scoring and the momentum seemed totally changed.
However, Andreas Obst with two timely threes gave life to Bayern and the hosts first tied the score at 32 with Edwards scoring in transition and then closed the first half leading 36-32 thanks to a 16-2 run.
With two free throws by Cesi Osman, Panathinaikos took back the lead at the start of the second half (39-38) and the close battle continued with the Greeks closing the third period up by two (55-53).
Panathinaikos was leading 63-61 and Devin Booker was ejected with a “T” with less than seven minutes left in the game. The Greens took advantage of the swing, making it a five-point game (66-61), only for Bayern to take the lead back with two threes by Obst and Voigtmann (67-66).
Panathinaikos’s answer was nine unanswered points, making the score 75-67, as Sloukas, Mitoglou, and Grant scored consecutive threes with less than three minutes left. Voightmann missed in the next play, Nunn made it (78-67) and Panathinaikos controlled the closing minutes.
Photo credit: EuroLeague