By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
AEK put up a fight but Panathinaikos managed to hold them off for a 78-72 home win in Game 1 of the Greek League semifinals.
Despite bouncing back from multiple double-digit deficits (45-35, 50-40, 62-52), each time AEK had a chance to tie or take over the lead, Panathinaikos came up with a response to recover control.
Howard Sant-Roos was the one to come up with a response in crunch time with a two-and-one play that gave PAO a 76-70 lead which sealed the deal.
Sant-Roos finished with 18 points as the top scorer of the Greens while Ioannis Papapetrou added 16 and Mario Hezonja 14 points. On the opposing side, Daryl Macon Jr scored 14 in addition to Nikos Zizis’s 11 and Jonas Maciulis’s ten points.