It is OAKA time now! Panathinaikos, better, more determined and more consistent than ever prevailed over Maccabi Electra in the NOKIA Arena by 78-69 and now the series relocates to Athens, as it now stands at 2-2. Qualification to the Istanbul Final Four will be decided at its home arena, our home.
The first minutes of the game were indicative and clearly showed what Panathinaikos wanted to do on the court. It was determined going in, its defense had nothing to do with that of the first minutes in Tuesday’s game, and it seemed more focused in offense. A quick 0-4 run (1’20’’) set the tone, but throughout the entire first half of the game none of the teams was able to break ahead from the other by much. Nonetheless, even if the “clover” could not build on a lead that could be considered “safe”, it would not at the same time let the reins of the game change hands.
Maccabi Electra got in the lead for the first time at 4’50’’ (8-6). The two-point lead was the biggest one it got in the first half (17-15 at 8’50’’, 19-17 at 10’). On the contrary, Zeljko Obradovic saw his players press more and reaching up to a five-point lead, initially by a three-pointer by Sarunas Jasikevicius, who was strongly booed every time his name was heard or whenever he did anything on the court. Saras turned the score into 25-30 (14’40’’), just a tad later Stratos Perperoglou made it 27-32 (16’14’’), and Nick Calathes took it to 35-40 (19’30’’) by one of his three-pointers, before half-time ended at 36-41 by one of Mike Batiste’s free throws.
An outburst by the “Greens” sealed by a two-point shot first by Calathes and then by Smith boosted the lead to 11 points (38-49, 21’50’’). However, it did not last long. Maccabi Electra reacted immediately with the help of its fans who had created an amazing atmosphere, applying pressure on all directions. It made a swift comeback, cut down the lead to two points (47-49, 24’50’’) and in turn the game returned to the picture that had been shaped in the first half. The “Greens” got to a +6 margin (47-53, 26’50’’), before the third quarter ended at 50-54.
The game was far from being over…The fourth quarter turned out to be exciting all the way through. Panathinaikos got to an eight-point lead (51-59, 31’25’’), but once again was unable to keep that much of a lead. On the contrary, it found itself behind in the score for the first time after the first quarter (65-64 at 35’43’’ and 67-66 at 36’40’’). But the “Greens” know better than that… With Kaimakoglou in the leading role they got to a five-point lead (67-72, 38’28’’), Diamantidis went to the free-throw line and turned the score 67-74 (38’30’’)… The Israelis were unsuccessful in their shooting, sent the captain back to the free-throw line for him to turn the score 67-75 at 39’20’’ and 67-76a little later, before Sarunas Jasikevicius took over from him to make the score 69-78 which was what was left on the scoreboard at the end of the game …
Referees: Jungerbrand (Finland), Ryzhyk (Ukraine), Garcia Gonzalez (Spain)
By quarter: 19-17, 36-41, 50-54, 69-78
Maccabi Electra (Blatt): Papaloukas, Hendrix 7, Smith 14, Blu 3, Eliyahu 12, Mallet 3, Pnini, Burstein 5, Ohayon 9, James 2, Schortsanitis, Langford 14
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Maric, Perperoglou 7, Batiste 4, Logan, Sato, Tsartsaris, Diamantidis 12, Vougioukas 8, Calathes N. 15, Smith 7, Kaimakoglou 12 (7 rebounds), Jasikevicius 13
