Panathinaikos succeeded in making a 2-0 ₺sweep₺ by defeating Aris by 65-88 at ₺Alexandreio Melathron₺ and is now facing Kolossos Rhodes in the OPAP BasketLeague semifinals.
From the very beginning, the game was different compared to the first game between the two teams. Aris led by 3-2, but from that point onward Panathinaikos had the first say. In the first quarter the ₺Greens₺ could not break ahead in the score by building a safety lead. They got to an up to six-point lead (11-17) with Sarunas Jasikevicius getting in on the court and ₺spreading₺ the game around. Typical of how he passed the game around to the team is the fact that within four minutes on the court, after going in as a substitute, he passed on three assists, while by halftime and in 15’45’’ of presence on the court he had already reached seven!
The home team was looking for solutions, cut the margin down by the end of the quarter, but got stronger in on the court in the second quarter (18-21), but got stronger in during the second quarter. Defense became more effective, three-pointers found their way to the target, and Ian Vougioukas initially followed by Romain Sato helped get the lead to thirteen points (21-34, 14’). Aris tried to and actually managed to come up with solutions from Bogris and Muldrow, with Krusic going back to the bench. Dimitris Diamantidis made the score 24-39 (15’), but two of the home team’s tall guys turned it into 31-39, with Kostas Kaimakoglou however providing his own answer: by pitching in seven personal points he took the lead back to +13 (31-44, 19’), before Dimitris Verginis wrote one the scoreboard the halftime score of 36-46 by a big three of his own.
The first minutes of the third quarter were characterized by the nervousness displayed by both teams. Aris closed in to eight points (38-46), but Panathinaikos retorted immediately, getting the score to 38-57 with Calathes, Batiste, Perperoglou, and Logan contributing in offense. Bogris disrupted their run (40-57, 25’40’’), with the ₺Greens₺ however not being threatened after having built a lead that they kept all through the third quarter which ended by 53-68. Things did not change in the last quarter with Panathinaikos stretching the lead to 26 points (58-84, 36’) and marking a final score of 65-88.
Referees: Koromilas, Xenikakis, Kaldiris
By quarter: 18-21, 36-46, 53-68, 65-88
Aris (Alexandris): Mavroeidis 3, Kerusch 7, Tapoutos 6, Tsairelis 5, Davis 4, Krusic 1, Bochoridis, Bogris 16 (8 rebounds), Muldrow 9, Verginis 9, Dimas 3, Vezenkov 2
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Maric 4, Perperoglou 5, Batiste 8, Logan 13, Sato 11, Tsartsaris, Diamantidis 7, Vougioukas 7, Calathes 5, Smith 10 (8 rebounds), Kaimakoglou 8 (7 rebounds), Jasikevicius 10 (9 assists)
