Panathinaikos might have had 5 basic players sidelined, nevertheless it managed to down Maroussi by the final 82-79, curtains falling after the clash in the Euroleague for both opponents. The greens competing lacking the services of Vassilis Spanoulis (tendonitis in the left knee), Dimitris Diamantidis (injured inner thigh), Nikola Pekovic (discomfort in the Achilles tendon), Stratos Perperoglou (discomfort on the soul of the foot) and Kostas Tsartsaris (he is currently following a personal program trying to get rehabilitated after suffering a fracture in his left hand during the encounter with AEK at the Elliniko indoor stadium).
Absences where quite a few, but from minute one Panathinaikos’ players seemed determined to do what coach Zeljko Obradovic had stated before the reckoning with Partizan and the victory that followed at Belgrade: To play for both themselves and their team and to respect themselves. The initial 5-0 (2’10’’) and 13-5 (5’20’’), dimmed the voices from the days leading up to the matchup, voices that where embellished grated the injuries. However the game did not play out without agony for the final conqueror’s identity. Panathinaikos got up by 6 at 11’40’’ (26-20), but Maroussi was determined to fight back. As it had tied at 18-18 (8’50’’), it tied again at 26-26 *12’45’’), whilst running a mini 4-0 streak it even got to lead for the first time in the encounter (36-33 at 17’10’’, 36-37 at 18’).
Drew Nicholas put Panathinaikos back up by 3 with the first triple of the evening for the clover swooshing the net at 22’30’’, to flex the score 46-43. Sarunas Jasikevicius who got some game time, upped the ante to +5 (48-43), Maroussi answering with a partial 2-7 to gain pole position (48-50, 25’10’’). Neither team managed to step away from its rival all the way into the clutch where at 55’’ pending to game buzzer team where tied 77-77. Mike Batiste, protagonist of the greens, got the score board reading 79-77 (39’20’’), Homan went one-for-two charity shots (79-78, 39’37’’), Antonis Fotsis used his free throws to the maximum to get to 81-78 (39’40’’), Billy Keys copied Homan (81-79, 39’45’’), Jasi got 1-for-2 from the line but essentially none more where needed for Panathinaikos to prevail by the final 82-79 as Keys missed the buzzer beater way down-town, the Lithuanian guard picking up the defensive board for the clover.
Referees: Martin (ESP), Dozai (CRO), Garcia Gonzales (ESP)
Quarters: 22-20, 41-39, 61-60,
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Tepic 7, Batiste 21 (8rbs), Fotsis 7 (8rbs), Haislip 6, Nicholas 10, Calathes 9 (4as), Shermadini 11, Verginis, Jasikevicius 11 (5as)
Maroussi (Bartzokas): Keys 13, Pelekanos 9, Batis 7, Homan 13, Nadjfeji 7, Mavroeidis 11, Calathes P.3 , Arigbabu 2, Kaimakoglou 4, Koumpouras, Lucas 10
“As European Champions”
Zeljko Obradovic had requested it, the players granted his wish. As in Belgrade, so too in OAKA stadium, it two games of now point system importance, Panathinaikos played for its name and its European Champions title. This particular point, was the starting point for all that coach Obradovic had to state with the completion of Panathinaikos’s European presence for this season: “Last week and prior to the clash with Partizan I had stated that our goal was to compete as European Champions in the two final games. It was important for us not to finish the Top16 round with a perfect nil in the winning category. We aspired for the two victories. We hoped to respect ourselves and the team and perform two good games. The difference between the game in Belgrade and this one was that for the encounter with Maroussi we worked lacking 6 players (Spanoulis, Diamantidis, Perperoglou, Tsatrtsaris, Pekovic, Bogris) whilst Shermadini had a fever. It was only the night before the clash that we managed to get a good practice and play a double, bringing along two of our juniors (note Karamalegos, Zoumpos). My players took the game with Maroussi seriously, something which was not very easy for two reasons. One because Maroussi is a very good team and two due to all the problems we were facing. I would like to congratulate my players but also the fans who stood by us today, even though the game had no importance in ranking for us, as they proved that they respect both the team and all our efforts”.
Maroussi’s coach Yorgos Bartzokas noted: “A journey that begun in September with two hard games every week ended this evening. By competing in Euroleague we became a better team and a can say that I am proud of my players, who missed qualification to the final 8 for a single shot. They fought like real warriors against Panathinaikos and its given quality and huge experience. We had problems also with Mavroeidis and Batis sprain and managed to fight Panathinaikos all the way to the end and despite on the challenges we face in the games. Now we are called upon to instrument the same competence and endurance in the Greek League and recover from our injuries. The team showed character”
