By Giorgos Orfanakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Zeljko Obradovic beat Panathinaikos on the road for the first time as the coach of Fenerbahce and his new team did it on the best possible timing. The final score was 71-58, Bogdanovic scored 23 points, still defense made all the difference as the hosts scored just 16 points in the second half.
Nikola Kalinic was also great with 16 points and Bobby Dixon added 13 points. KC Rivers with 16 points was the top scorer of Panathinaikos, but he made his damage, like the rest of his teammates mostly at the first half.
Despite a great start for Fenerbahce and a 14-6 lead with Bogdanovic having three blocks in three minutes (!), the hosts trailed just by one point at the end of the period (16-15) and got a 35-23 lead with Rivers making all the big shots.
Panathinaikos forward had 13 points at half-time, Milke James added 10 points and the Greens went to the locker rooms with a 14 points advantage (42-28). Things didn’t change at the start of the second half with Panathinaikos leading even by 16 (47-31) and that was the cue for Fenerbahce to react.
The guests’ answer was a 17-2 run (49-48), Panathinaikos ended the third period with a two points advantage (50-48) but thanks to the Serbian duo of Bogdanovic and Kalinic, Fenerbahce finally got a 53-50 lead for the first time since the first period.
And then Panathinaikos collapsed with Ekpe Udoh blocking and Bobby Dixon making a huge three. The partial score at the last quarter was 14-3 for Fenerbahce (62-53) and the tables were turned. Nothing changed after that.