Panathinaikos by picking up the pace from the second quarter forward, managed to down Rethymno 78-68 in Day 2 of the “Petros Ikonomakis” tournament.
Panathinaikos was unable to hold a steady performance in the first half of the game. It started off on the right foot, led by 5 (4-9, 2’20’’) Dimitris Diamantidis draining a three but what came next wasn’t in the same league of competence. Rethymno won the battles of the boards, used long haul shots and actually managed to lead (11-10, 5’20’’). Teams continued to go neck in neck in the game (14-13 at 6’20’’, 14-16 at 7’, 17-18 at 9’). The Cretans flew ahead in the first minutes of the second quarter (24-18, 12’) and held on to the lead all the way down to 18’23’’ when Jonas Maciulis brought his team back in the driver’s seat, forming score 33-34. A pair of free throws off Andy Panko led to a +3 advantage, but the hosts unraveled a come back, result being half time score 38-36.
Panathinaikos stepped out on court for the second half mightier than before. 41-37 (20’20’’) swiftly flexed to 41-47 (22’40’’) praise to Kitchen, Diamantidis, Panko, dynamic trio aided by Giannopoulos-Schortsanitis as the game image seemed to be changing entirely. The greens made sure of it as they held fast on to the reigns of the game, picking up the pace of the clash, enforcing further pressure, going more powerfully to the rebound. Results showed up on the score board, score turning from 41-37 into 41-53 (25’23’’). Rethymno found solutions behind Aggelopoulos’ pair of good triples to cut his team’s trail back to 6 (49-55, 27’37’’); Gap at which third quarter rested (54-60).
The clover, with fans who not once gave up chanting in favor of their team, climbed back up to +12 (58-70, 33’20’’), only to see its opponent creep back up to a 4 point distance (66-70, 35’34’’). The Cretans exploited openings they discovered, but Panathinaikos input an immediate response behind big man Schortsanitis to re-establish the gap at its double digits stature (66-76, 37’30’’). Curtains dropped in the encounter the ball in Diamantidis’ possession, final score 68-78.
The “Petros Ikonomakis”tournament ends tomorrow. Panathinaikos will be facing Panionios at 18.30. Earlier on (16.00) the encounter amongst Rethymno and Apollon Patras will be committed.
Quarters: 20-18, 38-26, 54-60, 68-78.
Rethymno (Koufos): Brown 12 , White 9, Aggelopoulos 9, Tsohlas 11, Duvnjak 6, Carter, Latovic 3, Petway 15, Galiotos , Sizopoulos 3
Panathinaikos (Pedoulakis): Bramos, Panko 24, Maciulis 5, Armstrong 2, Ukic 6, Tsartsaris 5, Diamantidis 12, Kitchen 11, Giannopoulos 5, Schortsanitis 8
Pedoulakis: “We tried out quite a few things”
Argyris Pedoulakis, head coach of Panathinaikos, stressed after the end of the encounter: “It was an opportunity for us to see a few things. We tried out different schemes and situations, especially in the first half. You must think as a player. In the first half we went on purpose to defenses which were not compatible to our opponent in order for the big men to try out their feet. In the third quarter “Sofo” made a world of difference in backcourt. The guys who have no knowledge of our league understood that things wont be a stroll in the park in home-courts such as this one. Congratulations to Rethymno, both team and fans”.
As far as how ready the team is for the Greek League, he stated: “We are a new team and we need time. Through the encounters we will be able to reach the level we aspire towards. As far as the Greek League, I don’t think it’s a lot different. A new element is the fourth American, element which will enhance the teams in the lower pool of the ranking board”.
Rethymno Head Coach, Stergios Koufos, noted: “I wish Panathinaikos a good season and health above all as do I wish it achieves its goals in both Greece and Europe , good luck also to coach for his new assignment. Today we got more mixed up. We were supposed to make some decisions, now we are going to get mixed up. Day by day we become better; the new guys start to get the hang of it. It is a bit hard for the Americans to understand what they are going to be going up against in the Greek League, in a matter of a few days. I would like to thank both ours and Panathinaikos’ fans for creating a great atmosphere. As far as the championship, I feel that it is going to be a competitive one like last season. In the end all the teams, even the troublesome ones have a roster. In the first round at least, it will be very competitive. I think we shall be reliving something similar to last year. I believe that the teams this season are a bit more competitive and tougher”.
