Panathinaikos AKTOR continued its undefeated run in the Stoiximan GBL, securing an 83-73 away victory against Aris Midea and extending its regular-season record to 21-0. The game’s top scorer was Cedi Osman with 21 points.
Panathinaikos AKTOR started the game strongly, quickly establishing an early lead (2-11 at 5’), maintaining full control of the tempo. However, Aris Midea responded with a scoring run, momentarily taking the lead (20-17 at 10’).
The visiting team promptly reacted, leveraging its strong defensive performance to regain control (28-30 at 16’) and closing the first half with an 11-point advantage (33-44).
At the beginning of the third quarter, Panathinaikos AKTOR extended its lead to 15 points (37-52 at 22’), ending the period with a slightly larger margin (51-67). In the final quarter, the team led by as many as 17 points (55-72 at 32’), with Aris Midea managing to reduce the deficit to 9 points (63-72 at 35’).
However, Panathinaikos AKTOR remained composed and secured yet another victory, finishing the game with an 83-73 win.
Quarters: 20-17, 33-44, 51-67, 73-83.
ARIS MIDEA (Vetoulas): Cooper 11 (2), Chatzidakis 4, Woodbury 9, Figueroa 14, Juiston 5 (1), Vissariou, Willis 18 (1), Fillios, Hodge 12 (4).
PANATHINAIKOS AKTOR (Ataman): Kalaitzakis 4, Brown, Nunn 14 (2), Gabriel 4, Hernangomez 12 (2), Sloukas 3, Osman 21 (2), Samodurov 4, Papapetrou 4, Grant 9 (1), Mitoglou 6.
Ataman: "I am not satisfied with how we played"
Ergin Ataman expressed his dissatisfaction with his team's performance despite their away victory against Aris Midea in the 21st round of the Stoiximan GBL.
His full statement:
"We won the game. We are in first place in the standings. We have already secured the top spot and remain the only EuroLeague team that is undefeated in its domestic league. However, I am not satisfied with how we played tonight. We were too relaxed, and whenever our opponent became more aggressive, we lost control of the tempo. We committed 17 turnovers and were disappointing in our field-goal shooting. If this continues, it will be a huge problem in the future, especially in the EuroLeague. Yes, we won, but I am not pleased with the basketball we played.
The main issue is that we did not respond to our opponent’s aggressiveness in the same way. We must change this mentality, particularly in the EuroLeague, because we have not accomplished anything yet. We need to win four of our next five games to secure home-court advantage in the EuroLeague."
Finally, when asked about the injury status of Panathinaikos AKTOR players, he replied: "Honestly, I don't have any updates at the moment. I am waiting for some good news from the medical staff."
