Panathinaikos faces Maroussi at the OAKA arena on Sunday the 12th of October for the beginning of the Greek League. An encounter that will not feature Vassilis Spanoulis, who suffers from pain on the sole of the foot and will be carried out in view of an empty stadium, since the team will be serving its punishment of one closed game that was pending from last season. Assistant coach, Dimitris Itoudis, while referring to the game against Maroussi, stressed: “The new season commences and it is imperative, not only to show the according enthusiasm, but also to keep focused on all that takes place. We are obligated to have that extra motivation that every club with expectations to play a leading role, should have. The fact that we won’t have our fans on our side is something that makes the elements of motivation and concentration all the more important. We are in all well, with the exception of course of Spanoulis, who is not scheduled to play and who will continue therapy so as to overcome his problem with his foot”.
Itoudis analysis
In reference to Panathinaikos’s opponent’s analysis, Itoudis stated: “Maroussi is a team with precise ideas and destination. It is enhanced in every position in comparison with last year’s lay out. It has a mixture of players with experience, youthful enthusiasm but also talent.
We are up against an athletic team that will seek to look up court, towards the basket in view of an open court in primary and secondary fast breaks. The next thing it will deal in is “pick and roll” plays, which usually end-up in good plays towards the basket, meaning good movement into the paint and accurate passes near the rim. So, we must look out for the feeds to the centers. Many times the passing game includes that between centers, since it has the possibility to use forms with two tall bodies. For existence, Glyniadakis with Mavroidis or Kalathis who can play both power and small forward, Kalathis playing with Mavrokefalidis in a figuration of two “light” center fours. It also has the possibility to develop different games either using “light” or “heavy” centers.
Moreover, we will have to deal with single and double screening , assignments that Stevenson, Padius, Haff or even Keys when playing as a shooting guard alongside Koumpouras, might undertake, this being yet another possibility that Maroussi is fortunate to celebrate, that is of the last two mentioned, speeding up the game for their team.
It is a team with specific objectives in both offense and defense, where they put lots of pressure on the ball, denying the game in the middle of the court and sending it to the wings. They might also play a 2-3 formation zone defense. I believe we are ready to face them”.
Passed games archive Panathinaikos-Maroussi
Period Home Away Play-offs Total
1998-99 91-76 (+15) 95-85 (+10) - 2-0
1999-00 70-71 (-1) 71-52 (+19) - 1-1
2000-01 91-75 (+16) 92-85 (+7) - 2-0
2001-02 93-72 (+21) 91-97 (-6) - 1-1
2002-03 91-73 (+18) 50-57 (-7) - 1-1
2003-04 92-64 (+28) 69-74 (-5) 101-71 (+30), 84-75 (+9), 77-66 (+11) 4-1
2004-05 83-68 (+15) 55-75 (-20) - 1-1
2005-06 78-73 (+5) 77-74 (+3) - 2-0
2006-07 79-73 (+6) 66-60 (+6) - 2-0
2007-08 89-93 (-4) 79-68 (+11) - 1-1
Overall up to 2007-08: 17-6
Largest winning margin: +30 (2003-04 101-71 play-offs)
Largest winning margin as a host: +19 (1999-00 71-52)
Biggest losing margin as a host: -4 (2007-08 89-93)
Biggest losing margin: -20 (2004-05 55-75)
