Despite his mediocre image for most of the second part, the Panathinaikos made a great effort to make the epic overthrow, but was defeated 85-82 from Barcelona, inside OAKA.
Thus, with 0/2 in the “devil week”, the “greens” fell to 4-12, while on the other hand the Catalans remain alone at the top, improving their record at 14-2.
Two-faced appearance by Priftis’s team, as he still managed to reach the first part and at +13 (48-35). However, in the third period he started to give… rights, with the Catalans turning the match around with an individual score of 15-27 and making a “break” with the offensive rebounds, where they got a total of 17 throughout the game!
The fourth period started at a very low pace, with the “blaugrana” having a safe distance (72-81), until 39 ‘. There, the great counterattack of the “clover” started, but was not completed…
Top of Panathinaikos were Nedovic and Papapetrou with 18p. and 16p. respectively.
From Barcelona, the Mirotic and Laprovitola did the big “damage” with 20p. and 18p.
The match
Panathinaikos started with Papagiannis, White, Papapetrou, Makon and Sant-Ross. Bad start from the “greens”, as with their lazy defense they allowed Barcelona to feel comfortable and go 2-10, in just two minutes. Then, the “clover” found a score with White and Papapetrou, but Laprovitola was still hungry and so the “blaugrana” escaped at +9 (12-21), in 7 ‘. From that point on, the pace of the match went up sharply. The first reaction of the hosts came with the “feeding” of Papagiannis for the reduction to -4 (19-23), with Kuric answering with a three-pointer, but Panathinaikos through his defense and Nedovic to make a series of 7-0 (26-26), until the end of the first period.
Nedovic continued the same appetite in the second ten minutes, with Panathinaikos not only taking the lead, but reaching +5 (34-29), in 12 ‘. The Catalans tried to stay in the match with offensive rebounds, but the “green” defense was still pressing with Sant-Ross, White and Papapetrou sending the difference to +13 (48-35), in 17 ‘. In the last minutes, Prifti’s players made mistakes, with Mirotic taking advantage of this and pushing Sara’s team to an individual score of 1-6 (49-41) until the end of the first half.
Panathinaikos entered the second half without concentration in the defense, with Laprovitola and Smith initially reducing to -4 (52-48), in 22 ‘. The Argentine guard continued to be a “headache” for the “greens”, where with the help of Mirotic, Barcelona made the upset and went to +3 (56-59), in 26 ‘. This development spoiled the minds of Priftis’s players on both sides of the floor, with the “Blaugrana” taking piles of attacking rebounds and reaching +6 (60-66), keeping their lead until the end of the third period ( 64-68).
The lost rebounds of Panathinaikos and Davis sent Barcelona to +8 (64-72), in 32 ‘. From that point on, a recital of failure and mistakes followed from both, but the Catalans kept their safe distance (68-76), until 37 ‘. Mirotic then sent the visitors to +9 (72-81) in 39 ‘. However, the defenders and Nedovic put the “greens” back in the match, with the difference falling to the basket (79-81), at 20 ” before the end. With 2/2 shots by Mirotic and a terrible three-pointer by Nedovic, the difference was reduced to one point (82-83), at 4 ”. There, Kuric went in line, making 2/2, making the final 82-85.
MVP: Mirotic was not only the top scorer of Barcelona in the match, but also the one who maintained it in a safety difference in the last minutes. Thus, the Catalans had this “cushion”, which kept them in front, in the great counterattack of Panathinaikos.
The number that made the difference: For a game that was judged in detail the rebounds were the factor that made the big difference. Sarah’s players got 42 rebounds, with Priftis’s having 32. However, the impressive thing was the 17 offensive “rubbish” that the “blaugrana” got…
The ten minutes: 26-26, 49-41, 64-68, 82-85
See here the film of the match
Follow News Bulletin 247 on Google News to be the first to hear the latest news .
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
