Panathinaikos kept the tradition alive… For the eighth consecutive year Panathinaikos prevails over its opponent in the Euroleague opening game. The European Champions came out victorious over Unicaja Málaga with a final score of 98-77 in the OAKA indoors arena.
The first points in the game were scored by Unicaja Málaga, but once Dimitris Diamantidis’ hands put Panathinaikos in the lead (8-6, 3’50’’) it made sure it would not lose it again. A little later the two teams kept making ….eye-contact (8-8, 4’10’’), before the “Greens” took back the reigns in the game. They led with Steven Smith (11-8, 4’30’’), who was a threat to the opponents’ basket from the very first minutes and Panathinaikos went to a +11 score (21-10 at 6’55’’, 23-12 at 7’20’’). The first period ended 25-16 with Unicaja Málaga trying to come back to the game, which it seemed to be managing, mainly through rebounds and second-chance offences. It closed the margin to three points (29-26, 13’). With a three-point shot, Kostas Kaimakoglou helped the “clover” get ahead (32-26, 13’13’’); Diamantidis and Jasikevicius taking over from him, made the gap grow back to double digits (36-26, 14’). By pressing on the defense, Panathinaikos tried to run every chance they got and kept the score at a safe distance getting to 50-40 at 18’32’’. However, they lost their concentration in the last minute and a half, thus Unicaja Málaga took the offensive rebound and closed the first half at 52-49, with the fans unstoppable in encouraging and supporting the team. The guests were leading the rebounds (13-17), while Panathinaikos was show-timing once again its point of excellence – teamwork – with 12 assists (5 by Diamantidis) versus a mere 4 assists by Unicaja Málaga.
Coming back on the court, Panathinaikos put on an even more competitive face, and was even more determined. It was something that was obvious and one could sense it in each and every one of the players’ efforts. At 52-51 (20’30’’) Panathinaikos restored hope to Unicaja Málaga but only for a few seconds, because from that point on Zeljko Obradovic’s players kept the reigns tight in their hands. The difference grew steadily in the score. An 11-0 run led to 63-51 (23’20’’), for the margin to reach +16 (77-61) after the end of the third period, with the people giving the team a standing ovation for its efforts.
In the fourth period the “Greens” were unstoppable. The margin kept growing to get to as much as +25 (96-71, 37’35’’), with the fans starting a celebration of their own up in the stands and the final score of 98-77 giving the European Champions the victory in a game that launched Steven Smith and Alexis Kyritsis in the competition.
Referees: Ziemblicki (Poland), Vyklicky (The Czech Republic), Vojinovic (Montenegro)
By quarter: 25-16, 52-49, 77-61, 98-77
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Maric 10, Batiste (5ρ), Logan 4, Sato 16 (6ρ), Tsartsaris, Diamantidis 17 (7 assists, 3 steals), Vougioukas 3, Calathes N. 12, Kyritsis, Smith 13, Kaimakoglou 13, Jasikevicius 10
Unicaja Málaga (Mateo): Rodríguez 5, Rowland 10, Valters 13, Peric 13, Darden 7, Garbajosa 7, Freeland 5, Zoric 4, Sinanovic 11, Blanco 2
