Panathinaikos nailed the win it was after, having first say during the greatest part of the encounter versus Union Olimpija all the way done to the final 80-72 in THY Euroleague game 8 and is as of now one of the Top 16 Euroleague teams.
The first few minutes of recognition amongst opponents on the floor was the only period of time that the lead changed hands between teams. Panathinaikos started to clear matters on court in the last few minutes of the first quarter at the end of which it led 17-11. Return to the game for second quarter, provided the hosts with a 10 point spread on their guests (21-11, 11’36’’). The clash was anything but over, even though the clover superlative was more than obvious. The Greens upped the ante to 15 points an edge, mainly scoring through threes (29-14, 15’05’’), but at this point the pace dropped and certain consecutive turnovers allowed Union Olimpija to pick up the trail down to 5 points (31-26, 18’40’’). The Slovenians held fast all the way down to a strange play which allowed them to see the gap close to 2 points at half time. They had got the score to 35-31, Banks-and not him alone-believed that first half was a done deal, but finally the refs ruled that a tenth of a second was still pending on the clock. So, although teams had started to head towards the locker rooms, they returned and Olimpija exploited the aforementioned tiny time span the game ultimately going into recess at 35-33.
The guests tied game recommencing (35-35, 20’20’’) but Panathinaikos’ response was immediate. Threes off Maciulis, Banks, Bramos, Banks to score once more led to a 9 point cushion (46-39, 23’15’’). The Greens held the pace this time round, reduced turnovers once more, had rebounding control, result being a 17 point advantage (60-43, 27’32’’). Less than 4 minutes prior to the game buzzer, Panathinaikos was at +13 (72-59, 36’20’’), less than 3 minutes pending on the clock it was at +12 (74-62, 37’41’’), Olimpija to play its last hand in the game. It gambled on fouling strategy, cut back to a 4 point shadow (74-70, 38’34’’).In the remaining game time the clover went for 2/6 from the line, but at the other end of the court the Slovenians committed turnovers, victory remaining in Panathinaikos hands at final 80-72; a win to provide Panathinaikos as a seed in the Euroleague Top16.
Referees: Sahin (ITA)-Paternico (ITA)-Mantyla (FIN)
Quarters: 17-11, 35-33, 62-49, 80-72
Panathinaikos (Pedoulakis): Bramos 11, Panko 8 (6rbs), Maciulis 10 (7rbs), Ukic 14, Lasme 13 (8rbs, 4st), Tsartsaris 4, Diamantidis 6 (8as), Kitchen, Banks 14 (5as), Skordilis
Union Olimpija (Filipovski): Waters 2, Prepelic 11, Blazic 19, Rannikko 5, Salin 5, Muric 14, Baynes 7, Bubnic, Mocnik 5, Omic 4
Tsartsaris rising
Kostas Tsartsaris lived another historical encounter at a personal level. By participating in tonight’s encounter he tallied 218 in his Euroleague career. This numbers brings him to 3rd place in the league’s history where he stands alongside Jaka Lakovic. Thodoris Papaloukas is at the top of the list (235) and Gianluca Basile (220) is in second place. Juan Carlos Navarro is right behind Tsartsaris with his 215 participations.
Games played
Papaloukas 235
Basile 220
Tsartsaris 218
Lakovic 218
Navarro 215
700 perfect passes for Diamantidis
Dimitris Diamantidis became a member of yet another special club in his career. He accumulated 700 assists and became only the third player in the entire Euroleague history to reach such a number. The Panathinaikos captain needed 8 assists in order to reach 700 and nailed them with the final pass in the final play of the encounter, final receiver teammate Ukic.
The three 700 assists players
1. Papaloukas 938
2. Prigioni 798
3. Diamantidis 700
