By Cesare Milanti/ info@eurohoops.net
BERLIN – A passionate effort, especially at the defensive end, sent Panathinaikos Aktor to a win, 73-57, versus Fenerbahce Beko in Berlin’s Uber Arena on Friday evening.
Reaching the championship game of the 2024 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four, the six-time champions will seek a seventh continental title on Sunday. The 2011 Final Four marks their last appearance in the Final.
The team guided by Ergin Ataman never trailed in the Semifinals of the season-ending tournament of Europe’s premier club continental competition, holding off the determination displayed by Fener over three quarters. Additional separation over the last ten minutes of the contest made it comfortable down the stretch.
In an eighth consecutive showing with a double-digit performance index rating, a streak launched back in the Regular Season, Mathias Lessort was the top performer with a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double to go with two steals and one block. His PIR settled at 20. “In the second half, we tightened up. We made stops we needed and we got the result that we wanted,” he recapped.
Tallying six points in the fourth period, Panathinaikos superstar Kendrick Nunn ended up with 14 points. Fellow former NBA player Jerian Grant added 13 points. Ioannis Papapetrou chipped in nine points, three rebounds, and two assists. Greek guard Dimitris Moraitis was a healthy scratch. Luca Vildoza and Olek Balcerowski stayed on the bench.
“We were amazing in defense,” the Turkish play-caller, Ataman proudly noted, “If you play good defense, you win this kind of a game.”
On the losing end, former Wisconsin standout Nigel Hayes-Davis logged a team-high 14 points. Among several inactive players, French import Amine Noua was left out of the lineup. Israeli point guard Yam Madar suited up but did not play.
Twelve quick points set the pace
Jumping to a 12-0 start over the first five minutes, Panathinaikos kept some distance to finish the first quarter with a nine-point lead, 22-13. Seven players were already on the board for the Greek side, including Grant with five points.
“The beginning was very tough for us,” Fener head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius referred to the 12-point hole analyzing the loss to his former team, “I am proud of my guys, getting us here. But we did not put our best out there on the court.”
Hayes-Davis logged eight points in the second quarter, fueling a comeback bid for Fener. The deficit was reduced to two points, 38-36, at the break.
Brilliant defense countered offensive droughts as the Greens narrowly held on throughout the third period. “We just got to play better defense and get some stops. That is the key of the game,” noted Lessort at halftime. Besides extra effort in defense, the French center and Grant produced six points each en route for a 56-50 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
Giannis and Pippen
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was in attendance, following 26-year-old Kostas. After the game, he interviewed his younger brother on EuroLeague TV. “I am always proud of him, no matter what,” he described his support to Kostas.
During the Semifinal of the Final Four, the Freak sat alongside NBA legend Scottie Pippen, highlighting the extensive list of basketball stars in the capital of Germany.
“I come to watch some great basketball, the Final Four,” Pippen mentioned before the game, “I haven’t been able to follow too much, especially during my career but I definitely follow a lot of the players that came out of EuroLeague and did very well in the NBA.”
“I decided to cheer for Madrid because I played my first Olympic Games in Spain,” the member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame revealed defending champion Real Madrid as his favorite.
Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos also greeted Giannis and Pippen.
Following incidents delaying the entrance for fans, the tipoff was pushed back nearly 30 minutes.