Panathinaikos was impressive from the very first to the last minute of the game, downed Fenerbahce/Ulker by 77-56 at the Ulker Sports Arena in Constantinople, and clinched an important victory for the rest of the Euroleague Top16 round.
Panathinaikos was remarkable from the first minutes into the game, imposing its own law and pace. Strong defense, dominance in rebounding, proper ball rotation, and successful shots by Zeljko Obradovic’s players, who fully complied with the plan that the coaching team had put together, quickly led to a score of 2-15 2-15 (6’15’’) and then to 9-26 (10’20’’). Batiste and Kaimakoglou were the spears of offense, scoring 11 points apiece in the first quarter alone.
The “Greens” had set the pace to the game and managed to reach a lead of up to 19 points (13-32, 14’40’’), playing very good basketball on all levels. At some point, the Turks managed to show some signs of reaction, which in fact translated into a counterattack that brought the difference down to 11 points (27-38’’, 22’24’’). The scene was repeated in the rest of the game with Panathinaikos breaking away in the score and Fenerbahce/Ulker trying to get close, without however actually becoming threatening too; and kept being unable to pose a threat up until the end of the game. The European champions had no intention of letting everything good they had accomplished from the very first moment of the game go down the drain. They stretched the lead back up to 19 points (56-75), before Dimitris Diamantidis made the scoreboard read 56-77 at the sound of the final buzzer.
Referees: Lamonica (Italy), Ryzhyk (Ukraine), Latisevs (Latvia)
By quarter: 9-24, 22-36, 43-58, 56-77
Fenerbahce/Ulker (Spahija): Ukic 11, Jerrells 12, Turkcan 4, Onan 2, Atsur 3, Peker 10, Gist 6, Savas 2, Bogdanovic 3, Preldzic 3
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Batiste 15, Logan 8, Sato 12 (10 rebounds, 3/3 two-point shots, 6/6 free throws), Tsartsaris 7, Diamantidis 7 (6 rebounds, 8 assists), Vougioukas 3, Calathes N. 3, Smith, Kaimakoglou 19 (1/1 two-point shots, 4/6 three-point shots, 5/6 free throws, 5 rebounds), Jasikevicius 3
