Panathinaikos remained undefeated by beating Lottomatica Roma in Italy by 90-71 and is already in the Euroleague play-offs. The “Greens” got to the win thanks to three-pointer felicity and restriction of the Italian offensive weapons.
Roma was the first team to take the lead (4-0 in minute 1). Zeljko Obradovic’s boys answered with an immediate 9-0 run (4-9 at 4’20’’), only for the hosts to reply yet again with a new streak to get to 13-9 at 7’. Roma held on to its 5 point advantage until Panathinaikos tied the game moments before the fulfillment of the first quarter (20-20). The guests led again at 11’10’’ (22-20), not being able though to build any measurable distance from their opponents. Though they did mount to a 7 point edge at 17’, 30-37, in which distance the first half concluded (38-45).
Obradovic had tried out quite a few combinations until now. Spanoulis controlled pace, rhythm and set the tone through organizational craftsmanship, offence was conveyed mostly through Batiste and Pekovic’s efforts, both sharing 27 points amongst them in part 1, Batiste moreover tallying his 15 points in 13’14’’ playing time. Roma tried its best to invest on fast-breaks after every received basket, something that had been read into by the technical cast but also fought for the offensive rebound more effectively since it got double its guest’s in the first 20 minutes of the encounter (6-3). Panathinaikos’ greatest advantage was its triples, category in which it enjoyed a 71% stat, 5-out of-7, Drew Nicholas personally perfect beyond the arc, 3-out of-3 threes.
The second half of the game was all about the “clover”. Defense was there, Roma’s trail grew to a 14 point level (40-54, 23’40’’) and although it tried to input a threat to its guest’s superiority, all it managed was to get the game to a 5 point distance (50-55 at 26’50’’, 55-60 at 27’40’’). The fourth quarter only set Panathinaikos as the resident superlative in the encounter, the difference peaking at the final buzzer to 19 points (71-90); a final score that formulated mostly praise to great backcourt attitude. Let it be noted that Sani Becirovic got his first points from the line at 29’25’’ and his first field hoop at 31’ whilst Ruben Douglas offered his only bucket at 38’10’’, Andre Hutson only chipping in 3 points. Panathinaikos had 10-out of-17 triples overall stats, Drew Nicholas pouring in 5-out of-6 of his three-point attempts.
Referees: Arteaga (ESP) – Bachar (ISR) – Cmikiewicz (POL)
Quarters: 20-20, 38-45, 59-68, 71-90
Lottomatica Roma (Gentile): Giachetti, Gigli 2, Becirovic 6, Hutson 3, Jennings, Brezec 8, Datome 7, De La Fuente 11, Jaaber 18, Gabini 13, Douglas 3
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Kecman, Spanoulis 6(4as), Perperoglou 1, Batiste 17, Fotsis 5, Hatzivrettas 2, Nicholas 15 (5/6 threes), Tsartsaris 4, Diamantidis 3 (6rbs, 4as), Pekovic 20 (7rbs), Sakota 2, Jasikevicius 14
Obradovic: “We will respect Olympiakos as we did in the Greek Cup final”
Zeljko Obradovic spoke after the game against Roma about the encounter with the Italian team but was also was questioned about the upcoming game on Sunday against Olympiakos for the Greek League: “After Partizan’s victory against Malaga, the game against Roma got even more important for us. We were good at both ends of the court, we fought until the end and that is what’s important. The way we played was pleasing we got to the easy pass and the unguarded shot. Moreover we were prepared to face Roma’s zone defense. Now matters in Euroleague are in our hands. It was very significant that we managed to focus on what we had to face today, after a final. We spoke with our players and got round to leaving the game for the Greek Cup aside, leaving room in our minds only for Roma. Concerning the game on Sunday, what I must say is that it is not a final. Win or lose, there are still many games ahead until the end. Every game is different and unique. We respect Olympiakos. As we respected it last Sunday in the Cup Final, so we shall respect it in the League game. We will show up ready to do our game”.
Nando Gentile, coach for Lottomatica Roma, stressed: “We knew that Panathinaikos is in great form after being awarded the Greek Cup across from Olympiakos. It played a very important role in its good spirits. We played the best we could and fought as much as possible. I believe that Panathinaikos is ready for the final four”.
