Panathinaikos AKTOR secured a 94-79 victory over FC Bayern Munich in the second round of the EuroLeague regular season. Leading the scoring for the team was Mathias Lessort with 22 points.
Panathinaikos AKTOR started strong, quickly taking a 10-0 lead by the 3rd minute. Bayern Munich reduced the gap to 14-8 by the 5th minute, but Panathinaikos AKTOR regained control, leading by 12 points (20-8) in the 8th minute and extending it to 25-10 by the 9th.
The first quarter ended with the score at 25-16. Panathinaikos continued to dominate, increasing their lead to 31-18 by the 12th minute and 37-20 by the 15th. The first half concluded with Panathinaikos leading 47-34, and by the 23rd minute, they had stretched the lead to 57-38.
Bayern made a comeback attempt, closing the gap to 61-51 by the 28th minute and 64-55 the next minute. However, Panathinaikos held firm, ending the third quarter at 66-58. Bayern closed within six points (66-60) in the 34th minute and 70-65 in the 33rd. But Panathinaikos AKTOR responded with an 8-0 run, extending their lead to 78-65 in the 35th minute and eventually securing a 94-79 win.
Ataman: «Condolences to Baldock's family, a very young man passed away suddenly»
Panathinaikos AKTOR's coach, Ergin Ataman, expressed his sorrow during the press conference following the game against FC Bayern Munich. He began by saying: «First of all, I want to extend my condolences to the family of our team’s football player (Baldock), to all Panathinaikos fans, and to fans in general. A very young man passed away suddenly last night», referring to Baldock.
Ataman then shifted to discussing the match: «In the first half, we were good defensively, took the lead, distributed the ball well, and scored in transition. We were consistent in the first half, but in the third quarter, we stopped moving the ball properly and didn't approach the game correctly. Of course, it's the beginning of the season, and we are not fully prepared for all situations defensively. In the final quarter, Grant and Lorenzo Brown gave us defensive solutions when we put them in. While Lessort was the MVP, I also want to give credit to Juancho for his great work on the rebounds. We have a very good roster, but the most important thing is to win against teams with strong rosters».
He added: «We’re not fully ready yet, but we scored 94 points. I’m concerned about how other teams will stop us when we are fully prepared. Day by day, we will get better. If we’re scoring 94 points on days when we’re not ready, what will happen when we are?».
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