Panathinaikos counts with its first loss in a home game at the Top16 round, as Unics Kazan was the team that left the OAKA indoors arena tonight with victory under its belt as it won by 83-89.
The efforts made in defense and the correct offensive attempts quickly lead Panathinaikos to a seven-point lead (9-2, 3’30’’), but there was still a long way ahead until the end of the game, something that became all too apparent by the way the game evolved. Unics Kazan bagged some points from downtown shots, succeeded in 5/13 three-pointers in the first half of the game, and made a dynamic comeback. The lead stretched to eight points (12-4 at 5’10’’, 14-6 at 6’10’’, 20-12 at 8’40’’, 22-14 at 9’52’’), but vanished upon both teams return on court for the second quarter. The Russians tied the score (22-22, 11’25’’) and even managed to get in the lead for the first time in the game (26-27, 14’). Until the half-time buzzer none of the teams was able to get a clear lead, as it kept switching hands, with half-time ending with the “Greens” clinching a single-point lead (42-41).
When the game resumed, Unics Kazan proved to be particularly cautious in its defensive play. The “clover’s” passes had trouble getting to the right recipient, pressure was high, and at the same time the ‘clover’ was unable to find the opportunities it wanted to in order to run and get to an easy basket. As a result, the visiting team broke the score difference wider reaching a five-point lead (44-49, 23’30’’). The game remained pretty much the same. Unics Kazan had the first say on court, reached a score of 56-63 (30’) and then boosted the gap to +10 points (56-66, 31’) by one of Henry Domercant’s three-pointers. Panathinaikos kept putting up a good fight assisted by its rooting fans, but the Russians remained successful in their shooting attempts. A score of 61-66 (33’) soon turned to 65-74 (35’) by means of a new three-pointer, this time scored by Samoylenko. A foul coupled with a technical foul assessed by the referees helped Unics Kazan break even further ahead in the score and reach a lead of up to 13-points (65-78, 36’). Panathinaikos crunched it down to nine points (72-81), but the Russians still successful in their shooting grabbed victory in the OAKA, with the final score reading 83-89.
Referees: Hierrezuelo (Spain), Conde (Spain), Vojinovic (Montenegro)
By quarter: 22-17, 42-41, 56-63, 83-89
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Maric 1, Perperoglou, Batiste 16, Logan 4, Sato 4, Tsartsaris 2, Diamantidis 14, Vougioukas 9, Calathes 7, Smith 15, Kaimakoglou 7, Jasikevicius 4
Unics Kazan (Pashutin E.): Lyday 16, Samoylenko 9, Nachbar 3, Veremeenko 15, Greer 5, Savrasenko 5, McCarty 8, Domercant 23, Wilkinson 5
