Panathinaikos has a 1-0 lead in the first stage of the OPAP BasketLeague playoffs having defeated Aris in the first game between them by 83-68. The next game between the two teams is set for Saturday (21/4) at 4 p.m. at “Alexandreio Melathron”.
It took the third quarter for Panathinaikos to find its tempo and make its own game taking over control of the game. Aris proved to be a worthy opponent, while the “Greens” seemed unable to play their game. They kept a narrow lead that reached up to 6 points (15-9, 6’10’’), but the visiting team cut it down to a minimum (17-16, 8’10’’) only for the first quarter to end by 20-18. Aris appeared pretty feisty in the second quarter. It tied the game and went as far as getting in the lead by six points (37-43, 19’15’’), before time came for curtains down on the halftime by 38-43.
When the two teams returned on the court from the locker-rooms the picture was changed. Aris reached a score of 40-46 (21’40’’), but a 17-0 run gave the “clover” a clear lead for the first time (57-46, 27’), while a separate score of 26-5 in the third quarter lead the score to 64-48 (30’). Panathinaikos reached a lead of 21 points (69-48, 32’), and kept pushing the margin even further along the way, without now facing any resistance (74-50, 33’30’’), all the way to the final score of 83-68.
Referees: Afentoulidis, Maglogiannis, Bikas
By quarter: 20-18, 38-43, 64-48, 83-68
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Maric 9, Perperoglou 4, Batiste 7, Logan 14, Sato 4, Tsartsaris 4, Diamantidis 8, Vougioukas, Calathes 7, Smith 7, Kaimakoglou 6, Jasikevicius 13
Aris (Alexandris): Mavroeidis, Kerusch 8, Tapoutos, Tsairelis 6, Davis 10, Krusic 7, Bochoridis, Bogris 2, Muldrow 15, Verginis 18, Dimas, Vezenkov 2
