Panathinaikos reached an all-time high winning margin competing against Panellinios for the final game of the HEBA League at the OAKA arena, greens ultimately prevailing by 70 points (112-42), advantage which is as of now a record for the clover in the Greek League.
Panathinaikos made yet another game easy from tip-off. Competing behind Calathes, Perperoglou, Sato, Tsartsaris and Vougioukas as its initial 5, it stepped out on court aggressively to go for a 13-0 run (5’10’’), lead climbing all the way up to +20 (28-8, 9’20’’), Panellinios only getting to double digits in score accumulation as the first quarter ended praise to a… Death Valley triple off Josef Krabbenhoft (28-11). The guests only scored 9 points during the entire second quarter. Panathinaikos cruised to +40 (57-17, 18’45’’), only for the first half to close at 58-20.
The ante was upped as Calathes connected perfectly with Fotsis, the latter slamming the ball notoriously, lead breaking the 50 point marker (73-22, 24’10’’). A pair of interceptions led on to fast breaks, the green edge soaring to +55 (77-22, 25’), Calathes marking +57 lead (81-24 at 26’, 86-29 at 28’50’’). Tsartsaris offered a 58 point gap (88-30, 29’45’’), third quarter ultimately resting at 88-32. Vougioukas brought the lead into its 60’s (92-32, 31’50’’). Yorgos Bogris chipped 6 points to get the score board reading 100-38 (35’) and then some to 102-38 (35’30’’) only for the clash to reach its final buzzer, score closing at 112-42.
Quarters: Tavoulareas, Vardalos, Tsounas
Quarters: 28-11, 58-20, 88-32, 112-42
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Tepic 12, Maric 10, Perperoglou 17 (5stl), Fotsis 9, Sato 6, Tsartsaris 13, Diamantidis 8, Vougioukas 7, Calathes 10, Bogris 6, Kaimakoglou 10 (10rbs, 5as), Zoubos 4
Panellinios (Skourtopoulos): Papamakarios 2, Bailey 5, Kalaitzis 3, Krabbenhoft 8, Smith 12, Karathanassis 3, Sklavos 1, Francis 2, Ostojic 3, Kobodietas, Tsakaleris 3
*Mike Batiste and Drew Nicholas were sidelined for Panathinaikos’s encounter versus Panellinios.
Zeljko Obradovic: “Dimitris makes me proud”
Obradovic had little to state after the +70 win versus Panellinios, however did express the depth to which Dimitris Diamantidis’s naming to Best Euroleague Defender title makes him proud, whilst at the same time congratulating his players for their performance.
“What to say? We committed yet another mature game across from a team with very little motivation, something that made things hard for the coach to prepare for the encounter. I can’t help but thinking of how thing were in the first round, it was a different team and it had competed much better. Congratulations to my players for their maturity in the game”.
Next he referred to Diamantidis: “Once more Dimitris makes me very proud. He deserved it. In the end he will also be named MVP to the tourney. He spends all his time playing basketball, he enjoys it and that is the most important thing”.
“It should be named after him!!!”
Yorgos Bogris who competed behind 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 2 steals also congratulated his teammate Dimitris Diamantidis, before talking of the game against Panellinios: “I would like to congratulate Dimitris for his new accomplishment… Maybe it should be named after him since he has won the award of “Best Euroleague Defender” so many times. As far as the game, Panellinios did not help us to show the things we had hoped to; I suppose it was hard for them too, since it was the last game for their team this season. For us, we want and must make the most of the recess in order to work for what is in store for us next”.
Thanassis Skourtopoulos, Panellinios’s Head Coach, stated: “Congratulations to Mr. Obradovic for his qualification to the F4 and I hope hi brings the Euroleague Title back to Greece . I have nothing to say about the game. Panellinios came here to play only to fulfill its obligation”.
Yannis Karathanassis stressed”: “It was a tough season. We input our soul in order for the team to have a good stride. Today things were tough. Panathinaikos is the best team in Europe . We allowed our opponents to easy baskets. We tried to make a decent performance but we did not make it”.
