On Thursday (29/3, 22:05) Panathinaikos will seek to get the victory that will keep him alive in its quest to qualify to the Istanbul Final Four. Maccabi Electra got the victory it needed in the NOKIA Arena by 65-62, the series is at 1-2, and now the positive outcome in the next game has become a one-way street for the “Greens”.
Panathinaikos showed its bad side from the very first minutes into the game and found itself trailing behind in the score. The home team quickly led (5-0, 1’10’’), the “Greens’ tied the game (5-5, 4’20’’), but their counterattack was not long-lasting. An 11-0 run by Maccabi Electra making the most of the three-point shots (4/8 in the first quarter) had the Israeli team getting to a score of 16-5 (7’05’’). The substitutions that Zeljko Obradovic made, looking for a lineup that could reverse the picture that seemed to be forming, did not bring about the coveted result and soon after the beginning of the second quarter (11’) the score turned to 26-13. At that point, though, the solution seemed to have been found. The turnovers were reduced, defense became more efficient, the ball was getting closer to the basket and the score margin was crunched down to five points (27-22, 13’27’’). Once again, though, there was no duration. The home team found itself imposing its own pace again, managing to shoot the lead to 15 points (41-26, 19’05’’), before half-time ended by 41-28. There were collaborations, the rebounds were there, the three-pointers on the other hand were not, but what hurt Panathinaikos the most was the turnovers which rose to 11 in the first half alone.
Returning on court, the “clover” showed a better side to its game. It pressed more in defense and displayed higher concentration on offense, thus managing to get back as close as five points behind in the score (46-41, 26’34’’) with Maccabi Electra being the one reaching 10 turnovers this time around (6 of which in the third quarter). The lead was kept to lower levels; however Panathinaikos was not able to do the extra mile with the scoreboard reading 50-44 at 30’.
The “clover’s” players continued striving in the fourth quarter too. They did not throw in the towel. They gradually nibbled away the margin by playing much better basketball on both ends of the court, and with downtown shots by Diamantidis, Perperoglou, and Kaimakoglou managed to get the lead down to a single point (61-60, 37’50’’). And all that with Maccabi having being assessed with just 1 foul in the last 2 minutes! At 39’14’’ they reached 3 fouls in the fourth quarter and 15’’ before the final buzzer they got to four, with the score being at 65-62 after Hendrix succeeded in sinking in a basket after having taken an offensive rebound himself. These were the numbers left on the scoreboard at the end of the game, since Nick Calathes missed the three-pointer shot he attempted at the sound almost of the final buzzer. Panathinaikos – Maccabi Electra are now at 1-2, with the “Greens” now looking to tie the series on Thursday (29/3, 22:05).
Referees: Lamonica (Italy), Martin (Spain), Ankarali (Turkey)
By quarter: 24-13, 41-28, 50-42, 62-65
Maccabi Electra (Blatt): Papaloukas, Hendrix 9, Smith 11, Blu 8, Eliyahu 8, Pnini 2, Burstein 3, Ohayon 12, James, Schortsanitis 8, Langford 4
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Maric, Perperoglou 6, Batiste 13 (6 rebounds), Sato 4, Tsartsaris 2, Diamantidis 8 (5 rebounds, 5 assists), Vougioukas 11, Calathes N. 11 (6 rebounds), Smith, Kaimakoglou 7, Jasikevicius
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