By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos OPAP had a very good double-round week in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague as they got both wins, and Tyrese Rice treated the crowd with a nasty ankle-breaker in the second one, against Zalgiris and Thomas Walkup.
Breaking ankles by @ReseRice4 pic.twitter.com/NbuM5qLb5B
— Eurohoops.net (@Eurohoopsnet) January 17, 2020
Rice’s teammate Wesley Johnson has been once on the bad side of an ankle-breaker like that, and against none other than James Harden’s. Eurohoops caught up with Johnson who definitely remembers getting to the floor while guarding Harden and he admitted, Tyrese reminded him of the time: “(laughs) Υeah… it was definitely up there, the way he did it. It was actually like a crossover move. So, yes. It was definitely up there!
But don’t let that crossover fool you. The game itself went down to the wire and Johnson was quite impressed with the Zalgiris squad:
“It was a tough win. I take my hat off to Zalgiris, it’s a very good team, with a very good coach. They executed their plan. Sometimes they had the lead, other times we did, but we fought until the end. That’s what makes us a team.”
Both EuroLeague games this week were played at PAO’s home court and the American forward noted the squad is always fully set on winning in front of their fans. They’ve certainly shown that with just four losses over the past 20 games in all competitions:
“We always want to protect our home court. Whatever the case, we want you to know that your base is protected. Whatever opponent comes here, we know he must have a tough job. We have to get in there, give it our all, respect our wonderful fans, take advantage of the energy they give us to secure our home.”
In Round 21, the Greens will have yet another home game, this time against LDLC ASVEL. Johnson reminded that the French squad won the first clash, played in France, and they shouldn’t be taken lightly:
“Every game is important. The Villeurbanne showed us early… that it’s a group that can do damage and at their home, we failed against them. We have to play as if it were our last game and fight regardless of the opponent and the home advantage,” Johnson said.