By Vangelis Papadimitriou / info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos prevailed over Anadolu Efes in Game 1 of the EuroLeague Playoff series.
The Athens team trailed until the final quarter but managed to turn things around. One of the heroes was Jerian Grant, who hit the decisive three-pointer in the final moments—his only made shot of the game.
“All game, I was missing, and all my teammates—Panagiotis (Kalaitzakis), Mathias (Lessort)—they’re all telling me, like, ‘It’s coming, it’s coming, it’s coming.’ So, you know, I had confidence to make that last shot,” Grant told Eurohoops.
Panathinaikos halted Anadolu Efes’ winning streak to take the lead in the series.
“They were the hottest team in EuroLeague, so we knew it wasn’t gonna be easy. They had won eight straight coming in, but we knew from last year we had to lock in and really be focused.”
He shared his expectations ahead of Game 2 at OAKA Arena.
“All of them are tough. This is one that, you know, if we can get, we can really take control of the series. But we’re at home, so we’re supposed to win—though it’s never easy. It’s one game. This is a best-of-five series against a really good team. Coach told us to go just game by game, and we’re gonna take it like that.”
When asked whether Panathinaikos could lose three games to Efes, Grant was clear:
“I think no. You know, we’ll see—but I think no,” Jerian Grant concluded.