The changed Panathinaikos beat the “Astroball” and got psyched up ahead of the derby!

Finally an away win for him Panathinaikos!

The “greens” with their best appearance for some time passed the “Astroball”, beating with a score of 86-82 the Villerban! It was the Greens’ first ‘double’ of 2023, which took them to 10-19 and gave them a boost ahead of the derby with Olympic at OAKA for the Basket League (19/3, 15:45).

His team’s second win in a row Christou Serelis for Euroleague combined with a very good appearance. The Greens were outstanding offensively, especially in the first half when they scored 52 points. The match seemed to be heading comfortably for Panathinaikos, who 2 minutes before the end were ahead with 10 (74-84). However, some mistakes at the end put the hosts back in the game (80-84), before o Grigonis pulls off an important defense and passes to Williams which ended the match (80-86).

Panathinaikos showed an exuberant face, having many protagonists. Lee had 14 points and key defenses, while 13 were added by the Williams and Bacon. Especially the latter, after the match that was “cut” by Serelis, showed a different mentality, being more measured and team-oriented. Kombikos et al Grigonis with 9 points and 3/6 three-pointers, while his best appearance this year was made by Manzoukas having 9 points and playing a lot of time at “5”.

For Villeurbanne, which suffered its 8th straight loss and fell to 8-21, 13 points were scored by Yusuf Fal and 12 o Nando De Colo.

On the downside, there is concern about him Mateus Ponitkawho suffered a sprain in the first half and is doubtful ahead of the derby.

The match

The two teams began by constantly exchanging the lead in the first few minutes. Gudaitis and Tomas scored for Panathinaikos, with De Colo and Lighty to dominate from the home side (9-8). The Lithuanian was excellent at the start, and with a goal foul he wrote 9-11, quickly reaching 8 points. The French, with Fahl grabbing one offensive rebound after another, tied the game at 13-13 before going ahead with a three-pointer by Matthews (16-15). The French with Noah also escaped with +5 (23-18), with the first period ending at 26-20.

With the start of the second quarter, Manzoukas and Grigonis were responsible for a partial 5-0 of Panathinaikos, which reduced the difference to a point (26-25), before Pony tie at 27-27. The “greens” did not stop there, with Ponitka and Bohorides to send them to +5 (27-32). The Pole was in great shape, he followed for 29-34 and assisted Mandzukic for 29-36. A tension between Papagiannis and Bost spoiled the mind of Panathinaikos, with the home team scoring two consecutive three-pointers for 35-36. The “greens” answered with two of their own from Grigonis and Mandzouka for 35-42, before Bacon made it 39-47. The half ended with the score at 43-52.

The French came on strong in the second half and very quickly with Dio and Noah reduced to 6 (50-56), but Lee took action and increased the difference again to double digits (50-61). The hosts tightened their defense with Taius and Matthews they dropped again to 5 points (58-63), though Bacon and Williams brought a new +9 (58-67), before the latter made a three-pointer for +10 (60-70). The third quarter ended at 62-70.

In the first minutes of the fourth period the score was very low, with Panathinaikos to stay thanks to his good defense at +8 (64-72), reaching +10 with Mandzouka (64-74). THE De Colo cut it to 67-74 with a foul shot, but Grigonis made a 3-pointer to make it 67-77. THE Noah with a surprise layup, he again reduced Villerban’s deficit to 8 (71-79), but the Bacon made a foul shot to make it 71-82. The hosts with consecutive shots from De Colo and Noah reduced to 7 (77-84), with Fal putting another one for 78-84. The mistakes of Panathinaikos brought the French with him Matthews at -4 (80-84), but o Williams scored a crucial basket for the final 82-86.

The quarters: 26-20, 43-52, 62-70, 82-86

Detailed match statistics here