Panathinaikos easily defeated KK Zagreb in Croatia by 62-81 in the context of the Euroleague 2nd competition date.
It only took a few…. reconnaissance minutes. After the first four minutes into the game, Panathinaikos showed that it wanted to get it over with quickly. Despite its unsuccessful 3-pointers (and without “far-fetched” efforts), the “Greens” armed with their rebounds, the pressure they applied on their opponents in defense and their fast breaks, got control of the game. The score went from 2-4 (1’55’’) to 3-10 (4’08’’) and then 14-24 in the first quarter with Nic Calathes putting his foot down hard on the accelerator and Dimitris Diamantidis and Jasikevicius passing on assists to left, right and center, and all the rest of the players contributing to grabbing the rebounds. Panathinaikos had an even better performance in the second quarter, when the first 3-point shots finally started getting into the basket. KK Zagreb by 15’ had scored 2/12 3-pointers and the European champions 0/5. Logan and Sato had successful shots behind the line, though, and the “clover” was in full control of both the rebounds (20-9) and the pace of the game. Zeljko Obradovic, through rotation changes, made sure to take on different configurations, while at the same time maintaining his players “refreshed”, so that they stretched the score gap even more, marking a +23-point difference (22-45) a bit before the half-time buzzer with Kostas Tsartsaris.
Panathinaikos came back on the court with the score going to 22-46 (20’45’’) thanks to a shot by David Logan, but with both teams seeming to be missing their successful shots. The first successful shot in the paint (for any of the two opponents) was scored again by the American guard, who made a slam-dunk upon a fast-break and took the score to 22-48 (24’).
Both host and guest teams had stopped taking bets as to who would take longer to successfully score a basket in the paint. The… bet was won by KK Zagreb, though. Panathinaikos got to 22-52, with Mario Kasun solving the problem for the Croatians a bit after 25’, to make the score 24-52. The difference soared to +33 by Sarunas Jasikevicius (26-59, 27’40’’), before Saso Ozbolt marked five points of his own to give a breather to his team from an offense point of view (33-61, 30’).
KK Zagreb tried to make a comeback after returning on the court. It managed to close the margin (40-61, 32’05’’), but Panathinaikos was awakened. With seven points from Smith and two from Kyritsis, Panathinaikos led the score to 46-70 (34’20’’), only for Batiste to make it 46-72 (35’12’’). A 3-pointer by Kyritsis turned the score to 49-75 (36’) and the game got in the final stretch with the “Greens” having grabbed victory early on and just sealing it with the board reading the final score 62-81.
Referees: Ortiz (Spain), Cmikiewicz (Poland), Biricik (Turkey)
By quarter: 14-24, 22-45, 33-61, 62-81
KK Zagreb (Androic): Mulaomerovic 15, Simon 5, Kasun 5, Mey 23, Garrett, Rancic 6, Ozbolt 3, Saric 3, Heytvelt 2
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Maric 4, Batiste 10, Logan 8, Sato 13 (7 rebounds), Tsartsaris 4 (5 rebounds), Diamantidis 2 (9 assists), Vougioukas 3, Calathes 12 (6 rebounds), Kyritsis 5, Smith 12, Kaimakoglou, Jasikevicius 8
*Mike Batiste is now fifth on the list of players with the most field goals made, leaving Luis Scola behind him in sixth place (815)
Obradovic: “Proud of our fans”
Panathinaikos got the victory it wanted in Croatia. Zeljko Obradovic talked about the quality difference between the two teams, focused on Panathinaikos’ turnovers and did not omit to mention the “Greens” who traveled to watch the game against KK Zagreb.
“There was a difference of potential between the two teams. It is something that I believe everyone understands. The important thing right now is that we played good defense. On the other end of the court, though, in offense we were bad. We committed many turnovers, especially in the second half, while we also made some mistakes in the game set that we should not have made. It is important to correct them in the next games. We take it one game at a time. It is not easy for us; we have a lot of work to do and we want to improve day by day.”
As regards Panathinaikos’ fans he said: “I am very proud of our fans. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for coming to support us, despite the financial problems that we all know Greece is facing. What they did for Stojan Vrankovic is amazing. I want to thank them once again; I hope that in the future too they will be by our side, supporting us and believing in us. To us, it is very important that they were here with us.”
Kostas Kaimakoglou stated a few minutes after the end of the game: “We did most of the work in the first half. We tried to follow our coaches’ instructions and wanted to stop their main creators and executers. Our good defense resulted in steals that, in turn, helped us “open up” the court, make many fast breaks, and reach easy baskets. That is why the score difference became broader. The team has changed, additions have been made, good players have joined the team; athletes with different characteristics. Incorporating these characteristics in the game-play of the team and making them work to our benefit is a matter for the coaches. The team is not that ready yet. We have had two good performances in Euroleague, but there is still a lot of leeway for improvement. It is a matter of time. You see that even Mike has not found his step yet, even though today, for example, he has already helped a lot! We must all “find our pace” on court, so that the coaches can see which setup works well and so that we can become better. In defense, we will more or less be on the same level; we will base ourselves on the same principles. In offence we have kept the pick ‘n’ roll and the low post game. It is a matter of time for all of us to improve and learn new things every day.”
Kaimakoglou referred to Sarunas Jasikevicius being with Panathinaikos: “It is really nice to playing with him. I am truly enjoying it. He is yet another leader, alongside Dimitris Diamantidis. He is the kind of player who will take the ball when it is “scorching hot”. He can pass the ball smack down in your hands without even looking!”
As far as his personal progress is concerned he underlined that: “Basketball is evolving. I started out in position 5, but I must learn to do other things on court as well in order to rise to a high level. In modern basketball, it is not so much an issue of positions, but more a matter of player characteristics. My belief is that when you work hard and persist you will not get lost in the crowd. You will get what you rightfully deserve! And I wish that many guys get to climb high through the work they do.”
