Return to victory for Panathinaikos, who prevailed over Egaleo, final score resting at 103-77 in day 21 of the Greek League. It was a done deal almost from the beginning of the encounter. Drew Nicholas got the score board running for the “clover” burying a three, Egaleo answered to tie 3-3, but from then on the lead in the game was owned by the “Greens”. Coach Obradovic saw his boys fight at every play, leap at every ball and show the same eagerness in both ends of the court. The lead reached double score at the completion of the first quarter (22-11), Spanoulis and Jasikevicius sharing top scoring spot for the “Greens”.
The hosts continued in the same tempo, mounted a +13 edge (27-14 at 11’30’’, 26-19 at 12’30’’, 31-18 at 13’25’’), before Egaleo re-imagined its way o the basket and managed to gain on its opponent to a 4 point distance (35-31, 7’30’’) behind a triple sunk by McGrath. Response to this motion was immediate, intermission finding both teams at 46-33, Nikos Hatzivrettas being perfect beyond the arc (3-out of-3), Jasikevicius also (2-out of-2), Spanoulis already tallying 3 assist, 9 in total for Panathinaikos, solutions being provided from a very reliable Dusan Sakota who showed a 1, 107 tendex score at the break.
The gap expanded to 18 points (53-35 at 23’40’’), Zeljko Obradovic having cleared off the bench and having tried out all sorts of different 5s, third quarter resolving in a 66-49 score. The “clover” proved to be even more effective in the fourth quarter, getting even to a +25 advantage (81-56, 34’40’’) led by an impressive Kostas Tsartsaris, the lead growing even further to +29 (90-61, 37’). Spanoulis broke the 100 point marker stopping and popping a three-point jumper (100-73, 39’30’’), whilst he was the culprit of a three point attempt won foul, free shots all swooshing the net, the lead peaking to its highest price in the game +28 (103-75), only for the buzzer to find the score at 103-77 for the end of the encounter.
Sarunas Jasikevicius left the game behind a 1,142 tendex and Tsartsaris at 1,135, Spanoulis chipped in 5 perfect final passes, 7 “Green” players had scoring attributes in double digits whilst all but two scored for the team (Fotsis, Kecman).
Referees: Schinas, Afentoulidis, Poursanidis
Quarters: 22-11,46-33, 66-49, 103-77
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Kecman, Spanoulis 14, Perperoglou 4, Batiste 10, Fotsis, Hatzivrettas 12(4/5 threes), Nicholas 10, Tsartsaris 13(5rbs), Diamantidis 4, Pekovic 6, Sakota 15, Jasikevicius 15(3/3 threes)
Egaleo (Zevgolis): Gabrans 9, Angelopoulos D, Taylor 7, Koupidis 5, Hardin 7, McGrath 24, Magounis 4, Angelopoulos N 2, Tzigounakis, Kallinikidis 10, Grunheid 9, Gizogiannis
