Βy Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Both teams were out of the playoffs, and few fans bothered to show up, but Panathinaikos managed to get the 86-76 win over Bayern Munich.
It’s not a result that changes much, as both teams are tied to an 11-20 record, however, the hosts can at least smile, after having a total of seven defeats in their last 10 games in all competitions before tip-off.
Big man George Papagiannis with 24 points and 10/10 FG plus 11 rebounds led the charge for a balanced team effort, Matt Thomas added 12, Paris Lee finished the game with a double-double (10 p. 11 as.) and Dwayne Bacon had just four points.
Still Panathinaikos, after trailing by seven at the end of the first period (27-21), built a 10-point lead (43-33) before halftime.
Bayern reacted with a 10-2 run, which was completed with a three by Andrea Obst (45-43) and Panathinaikos went to the looker rooms with a five-point advantage (48-43) after a made shot by Paris Lee.
The hosts got the momentum and proved it by jumping to a 17-point lead (71-54) at the end of the third quarter and cruising to the win after that. Bayern did trim their lead to seven points (74-67) with a 13-3 run which was once again completed with a three by Obst, but couldn’t do much more.
Papagiannis made two consecutive threes, making a case for a modern NBA-capable big man who can shoot as he finished the game with 3/3 long-range shots and pushed the lead back to 13 (80-67).
“Everybody is shooting threes nowadays, even the bigs, but I like being the ‘five’ so if I can shoot the two, that’s the best for me”, Papagiannis said after the game.
Obst and Nick Weiler-Babb scored 12 points each for the losing side.
A matter of desire
Panathinaikos coach Christos Serelis gave credit to his point guard and his center, but as he explained the key was the mentality that his team demonstrated: “It was an amazing performance from our point guard [Paris Lee] and our big guy {Georgios Papagiannis], but the most important thing is the desire that we had during the game on defense. It’s the first thing that we have to prepare in any game. We have to play better aggressive defense, and use every player with this mentality.”
This might help as Panathinaikos will play against Olympiacos in the next EuroLeague game, trying to break their 12-0 losing streak to their eternal rivals.
Paris Lee and family 😀pic.twitter.com/fs0dK23IiA
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) March 28, 2023
Meanwhile, Paris Lee had an extra motivation due to the presence of his family which traveled from the US to Greece: “My family came out here and gave me that extra energy. It was a fun game, we played well together, we shared the ball, and that’s what it’s about. Everybody’s happy when they’re touching the ball, so I like it when everybody’s happy.”
On the other side, coach Andrea Trinchieri didn’t want to say much: “We turned over the ball. We were really sloppy, a lot of unforced turnovers, and this cost us the game.”