By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Panathinaikos Athens 86 – 81 in OAKA after an overtime thriller to improve to 2-1. Meanwhile, the Greens dropped to 1-3 after closing the double-game week with two losses.
Bonzie Colson led Maccabi with 21 points and eight rebounds, scoring also the basket that put his team up 73 – 78 in overtime. Panathinaikos made it 79 – 80 with 16 seconds to play and Tamir Blatt gave the Yellows a 3-point lead again via free throws.
Kostas Sloukas won a foul by Jasiel Rivero on a 3-point shot and had the opportunity to tie the score but went 2-3 with six seconds remaining. On the other end, Lorenzo Brown made 2-2 and then Antonius Cleveland stole the ball on the inbounds pass to secure Maccabi’s win.
“Shout out to Panathinaikos, they gave us a battle,” Colzon said. “But we stepped up to our principles. we stayed together no matter what happened. The guys came out to play. We made shots when we needed to.”
Maccabi had forced the overtime with a putback basket by Josh Nebo with four seconds left in regulation and after Panathinaikos came back from down 15 points (24 – 39) at halftime to take the lead with 3:40 to play in the fourth period. The hosts saw head coach Ergin Ataman getting ejected with a second technical foul halfway through the third period, protesting a refereeing decision to not turn a Maccabi foul into an unsportsmanlike after consulting the instant replay.
John Dibartolomeo contributed 15 points on 5-7 triples along with nine rebounds to Maccabi. Brown posted 12 points, 10 assists and five steals. Nebo had 12 points plus eight rebounds and Tamir Blatt dropped 12 points.
“It’s been tough for us these last weeks without playing, just practicing,” said Brown. “I’m proud of the guys getting the win in a tough atmoshere against a tough team.”
Luca Vildoza scored a season-high 15 points for Panathinaikos, including consecutive baskets in the fourth period that pushed towards the turnaround. Marius Grigonis scored 13 and Dinos Mitoglou had 11 points in his first official competition game since March 2022.
Kostas Antetokounmpo emerged as a key presence for Panathinaikos with 10 points and three blocks over 13 minutes, providing important defensive plays to help in the comeback.
“We lost the chance to win the game in the last minute of regulation, making 2-3 important mistakes,” said Panathinaikos assistant coach Christos Serelis. “The effort in the second half and overtime was great.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague