By Eurohoops Team / info@eurohoops.net
Rick Pitino could not have asked for a better debut with Panathinaikos OPAP Athens. The ‘Greens’ after some poor performances, bounced back in dramatic fashion in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and defeated CSKA Moscow, 96-84 at OAKA.
Nick Calathes proved why he’s Panathinaikos leader on Friday, as he finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists. He also added six rebounds and three steals. Besides, Papapetrou also had its best game of the season, finishing with 17 points, while Lasme (13p / 9r.) and Mitoglou (9p. / 7r.) also affected the game for the winners.
Thanks to Will Clyburn’s very productive first quarter, CSKA build a seven-point lead (19-26) and seemed to be in control early on. With a great second period (36-18), however, and a 29-12 run, Panathinaikos was full of confidence and managed to go up by double-digits (48-38) putting pressure on CSKA. Lucas Lekavicius, Ioannis Papapetrou and James Gist who came off the bench helped tremendously ‘Pana’s’ effort. Eventually, the hosts completed its most effective half of the season, scoring 36 points in just the second quarter alone, while also causing 16 deflections. Pitino’s squad was up by eleven points (55-44) at the half.
Will Clyburn tried to will his team back to the game, cutting the deficit to five points (63-58), but Panathinaikos responded once again and after the end of the third period was up by double-digits (72-62). A 0-8 run by CSKA in the beginning of the fourth-quarter made the contest a one-possession game (72-70). Once again, though, the Greek side went on a 13-2 run (85-72), thanks to Nick Calathes’ calmness and masterful plays offensively. Finally, with an overall excellent performance on both sides of the court, Panathinaikos went up ahead by 17 points (94-77), got past CSKA and improved to a 7-8 record in Rick Pitino’s EuroLeague debut. “The guys played defense like they were down by ten points all night long“, said coach Pitino after his first EuroLeague victory.
Meanwhile, Clyburn’s efforts of 24 points fell short for CSKA.
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