Although it got to lead even by 16 points, Panathinaikos was defeated in its home (FS, 79-83) by Montepaschi Siena and now opponents have one win each in the line of play-offs. The “clover” now has no margin of err in Italy to where it travels for the continuance of the quarterfinal round with game 3 taking place on Tuesday and game 4 on Thursday at the Pala Sports Mens Sana.
The best kick off in the game from Panathinaikos did not coincide with its complete dominance on court at the first half of the game. Siena in spite of having Eze charged with his third personal foul only at minute 3 into the encounter, found solutions, taking advantage mostly of offensive rebounds (6 in the first quarter) to take over in the game and lead, mounting even to a +6 edge (16-22, 9’10’’). A triple sunk by Antonis Fotsis cut the trail at first quarter buzzer (21-24). The two absentees of game 1 had already stepped on the floor, Dimitris Diamantidis and Ksistof Laurinovic, the prior having made quite a larger offering to his team than the Lithuanian big man. A trifecta unleashed by Vassilis Spanoulis at 14’40’’put the “Greens” back on top, advantage growing all the way up to a 7 point distance (36-29 at 15’50’’, 41-34 at 18’35’’, 43-36 at 19’25’’), before the game went into recess, score at 43-38. Panathinaikos had managed to balance things out in rebounding (16-19), Siena having picked up only two offensive rebounds in the second quarter, Zeljko Obradovic having the pleasure to see his players get game above the arc (6-out of-13, Spanoulis having 2/3, Nicholas 3/6) but also get to the line more accurately. Key of the game was again the confinement of Siena’s development and creativity, assists in favor of the hosts 9-to-4 but also Antonis Fotsis’ superiority in rebounding (7 up to now) plus his 3 blocks.
Panathinaikos returned from the locker rooms even more determent than before upping the ante and peaking the lead to a double digit figure of 15 points (55-40, 24’10’’) behind a mellow run 10-0. Siena could not avoid mishaps and even seemed worn out from time to time. Jasikevicius got his first field goal to expand the gap to 16 points (58-42, 26’40’’). The Italians resisted, made the most of a momentarily loss of concentration from the “clover’s” side , stole a few balls and got easily to the basket on fast breaks, reducing to 58-50 (28’) and next to a six point distance (61-55), score that marked third period ending.
The Italians took advantage of anything Panathinaikos offered, managing to creep up to 3 points (63-60, 31’40’’). Perperoglou gave a first breather (66-60) but Siena had not said its last word on court. A three poured in by Terrell McIntyre priced the trail at its least (70-69, 34’30’’), Sato provided its team with a +1 lead (70-71, 35’40’’) and saw it get away even further behind a basket by Kaukenas (70-75, 36’40’’). Drew Nicholas put an end to the “Green” draught (72-75, 37’) but was answered to by Eze (72-77, 37’50’’) whilst Laurinovic dunked to +6 (73-79, 38’30’’). Shots from the charity line by Mike Batiste cut the trail (75-79, 38’45’’) but McIntyre copied him next (75-81, 39’). Siena circulated the ball, kept its cool and managed to escape OAKA arena with victory in hand after the final 79-84, quarterfinals being now transferred to its home-court.
Referees: Arteaga (ESP), Bachar (ISR), Ankarali (TUR)
Quarters: 21-24, 43-38, 61-55, 79-84
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Spanoulis 11, Perperoglou 11, Batiste 16, Fotsis 4 (10rbs), Hatzivrettas, Nicholas 13, Tsartsaris, Diamantidis 2, Pekovic 13, Jasikevicius 11 (5as)
Siena (Pianigiani): Domerkant 2, McIntyre 24, Finley 2, Eze 2, Carraretto 4, Sato 4, Laurinovic 9, Kaukenas 22, Ress 9, Lechthaler, McDonald, Stonerook 6
