By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos defeated Zenit St. Petersburg 89-79 to register its first road win of the 2019-2020 season and return to victories after two straight losses.
This was the third defeat in four games of Zenit that was coming of the away win over Olympiacos in Piraeus.
Nick Calathes posted a game-high 24 PIR by finishing with eight points, 15 assists, and five rebounds to pace Panathinaikos. Jimmer Fredette added a EuroLeague season-high 22 points (16 in the second half) in 21:08 minutes while DeShaun Thomas and Jacob Wiley posted 17 and 14 points, respectively.
“We started playing a little bit on defense, and our offense was a little better in the second half. Every EuroLeague game is a good win, and obviously, to be on the road it is a great win. It is a tough EuroLeague this season, and every road game is always difficult, so it is nice to get a win,” Calathes said in his post-game comments.
Mateusz Ponitka had 16 points plus seven boards and Andrew Albicy 15 points for Zenit. The Russian team cut a 49 – 63 third-quarter deficit to one-possession distance down the stretch to make it 78 – 81 thanks to a bucket by Alex Renfroe with 2:38 remaining.
Calathes had a critical steal, which led to 2/2 free throws by Fredette on the other end. The latter also made another pair from the line with 46 seconds left to give his team a 79 – 87 lead and, basically, the win.
“Like I said to the players in the locker room, I’m proud of them. We fought until the end, and even though we didn’t win, we did fight. We came to the last quarter with chances to win, and it’s amazing. Like I always say, for a team like us to play against Panathinaikos and to have chances until the end… I’m just proud,” Zenit coach Joan Plaza said.
Fredette return from the locker packing some heat
At halftime, Fredette had six points and 0/3 triples. He then scored 16 to push his team towards the away win in Russia.
“I wasn’t playing great in the first half, I missed some open shots, but I just wanted to come out in the second half and be aggressive. My teammates did a great job and finding me, getting open shots, and they were, fortunately, falling,” Fredette mentioned. “It was a great team effort; everyone contributed. Every time we play on the road is tough. We had two tough close losses recently. It is great to be able to pull out a victory in a close game. It builds our confidence as a team. We have a really good team, a lot of talent. We’ve just got to learn how to play together and learn how to win. This was a big step for us tonight.”