Panathinaikos did not make it in the OAKA indoors arena and was defeated by 67-58 by EA7 Emporio Armani Milano in the context of the Euroleague Top16 5th competition date.
Panathinaikos unsuccessful shooting in the first minutes of the game gave EA7 Emporio Armani Milano the opportunity to get in the lead. The Italians took advantage of their downtown shots, while Zeljko Obradovic was watching his players not being able to get the ball into the basket even in unmarked shots, both close to the basket as well as behind the three-pointer line. Kostas Tsartsaris turned 2-7 (4’), to 8-7 (6’12’’), but the visiting team managed to turn a score of 11-9 (7’12’’) to 11-18 (10’17’’) with Alessandro Gentile starring in offense. The lead for the Italian team was stretch all the way to 10 points up (16-26, 13’20’’) with two shots by Nicolo Melli and with Sergio Scariolo keeping Antonis Fotsis and Giannis Bourousis on the bench. It was time for Panathinaikos to have its say. Through rebounds, but also through a more pressing defense that “sped out” throughout the entire court, it made a comeback, turned 21-29 (15’50’’) to 29-29 (17’50’’) with Diamantidis, Batiste, and Logan starring in the leading roles, with the first half ending by 32-34, with the help of instant replay. In this first part of the game, Panathinaikos had a success rate of 22% in the three-point shots (2/9) and 42% in the two-point shots (11/26), whereas the respective figures for the Milanese were 40% (6/15) and 47% (8/17).
The return on court was not exactly as the “Greens” would have wanted it to be. The Italians were having their way again, making the most of their long-range shots success rates. By one of Antonis Fotsis’ three-pointers they stretched the score difference up to a 12-point lead (39-51, 26’35’’), showing during this particular period of time to be in control of the game. Panathinaikos made an effort to return to the game; however, its shooting remained unsuccessful in decisive offenses. It crunched down the margin to seven points (46-53, 29’33’’), but the Italians broke ahead again to reach a lead of +15 points (52-67, 37’). The die had been cast for the game and the final score of 58-67 only came in to seal the result.
Referees: Jungerbrand (Finland), Garcia González (Spain), Javor (Slovenia)
By quarter: 11-16, 32-34, 46-53, 58-67
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Maric, Perperoglou 3, Batiste 11, Logan 7, Sato 4, Tsartsaris 6, Diamantidis 12, Vougioukas 7, Calathes N. 2, Smith, Kaimakoglou 6, Jasikevicius
ΕΑ7 Emporio Armani Milano (Scariolo): Giachetti, Mancinelli, Hairston 1, Fotsis 12, Cook 8, Rocca 2, Filloy, Bourousis 12, Melli 13, Bremer 9, Gentile 8, Radosevic 2
