Stadium: OAKA
Tickets: 6000
Panathinaikos showed two faces against AEK but their opponent could not take advantage of a bad first half for the European Champions. The final score of 78-52 tells the whole story regarding the game with AEK being the better team during the first half and PAO being explosive in the second and getting a standing ovation from the 6,000 fans that were at the OAKA arena. Indeed, at the beginning of the game, PAO were very ΄΄nervous΄΄, with turnovers, bad defense and low composure, allowing AEK to enforce their tempo. AEK took a 2-9 lead in the 4th but PAO replied back quickly. Led by Vassilis Spanoulis, they found solutions in offense and took the lead for the first time in the 8th, thanks to a «Kill Bill» basket. Still, AEK, with Wesson and Chatzis, were more effective in offense and took a 22-28 lead (27.30΄), ending the half ahead by 28-30! The second half was a one-team game and this team was of course PAO. With tight defense and Spanoulis still showing the way, Panathinaikos run a 13-4 series and took a 41-34 lead in the 25th putting things on the right track. Dimamantidis΄ improvement, Dikoudis΄ and Winston΄s contribution and the top team work by all Zeliko Obradovic΄ players in both defense and offense turned the game into typicality. The home team took a 15-point lead in the 28th (52-37), a more than 20 points margin in the 34th (65-44) and an even greater advantage in the 37th (71-46). The final 78-52 was a result of Panathinaikos slowing down a bit in the end. Score by periods: 17-14, 28-30(HT) 57-41, 78-52
