Panathinaikos broke out with a bang in Lavrio before Baskonia

Absolute Panathinaikos made “3/3” in the championship and awaits Baskonia in OAKA! Ergin Ataman’s team with an excellent performance in the second half won 111-73 of Lavrio and is preparing for a must win game on Thursday for the 5th game of the Euroleague.

More in a while…

The match

Panathinaikos started with Grant, Guy, Grigonis, Hernangometh and Balcherovski in their five, while on the other hand Lavrios had De Juliours, Thornton, Hellems, Moore and Gromovs in their basic five.

The “greens” took a 4-0 lead with consecutive points from Hernangometh, while Balcerovski’s two accurate shots made the score 6-0. Helms’ three-pointer and floater then pulled the visitors back, while Kavvada’s hook tied the game at 7-7.

Ataman’s team then went on a quick 5-0 run with Hernangometh and Balcherowski making it 12-7. After that point, the hosts stepped on the attack and with an 11-2 run “opened” the difference to twelve (23-11) with Mexa calling a timeout. The return to the floor found Lavrio fighting for the upset with Castanieda and De Juliours cutting it to nine (29-20) and Antetokounmpo’s alley-oop nailer closing out the first period at 31-20.

In the same pattern and the second quarter with Lavrio coming in strongly with Papadakis and Kastaniedas reducing to nine for 33-24. However, the guests’ guard was on fire and with another three-pointer it was reduced to six (33-27). Mitoglou’s two shots gave Panathinaikos a breather, but Zaras with a three-pointer from seven meters brought the score to 36-30.

However, the “clover” reacted with a new outburst and an 8-0 run that brought the score to 44-30! Lavrio, with Castanieda, Zara and De Juliours, continued to “bombard” Panathinaikos, with Thornton bringing the difference back to six (48-42).

Afterwards, the two teams played more “anarchic” basketball with Mandzouka continuing his successful streak in the championship behind 6.75, while Balcerofaki and Grigonis made it 56-45, which was the halftime score.

More in a while…