By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Cedi Osman scored a EuroLeague career high of 28 points against his former team, and Panathinaikos celebrated the win in Game 5 against Anadolu Efes.
The final score was 75-67 as Panathinaikos qualified for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four and can defend the title won last season in Berlin.
Kendrick Nunn added 12 points, while Jerian Grant added 11.
“We could have won there in Game 4, but it’s better to do it in front of our home fans”, said Osman after the final buzzer, adding: “I am really proud of my guys, they did a hell of a job”.
On the other side, Elijah Bryant with 16 points and Shane Larkin with 11 were the top scorers, with Efes not being able to complete a huge comeback.
Closing it the right way
Panathinaikos had a great start in the game, leading 18-10 after the first quarter with Cedi Osman scoring already 12 points.
Kendrick Nunn and Wenyen Gabriel followed with six unanswered points for a 24-10 lead to complete a 12-0 run.
The Greens pushed the lead to 18 (29-11) after a three by Nunn, for a partial score of 17-1, and Efes was already on the ropes.
The biggest gap between the two teams was 23 points (36-13), but that was the cue for the guests to finally wake up and make it a 10-point game (36-26) with a 13-0 run. The halftime score was 41-30, with Shane Larkin scoring at the buzzer, and the game was far from over.
Efes trimmed the lead to three (47-44) after eight minutes of intense fighting in the third period, with a partial score of 14-6, making almost a total comeback. However, after an offensive rebound by Kostas Sloukas and a Dinos Mitoglou three-pointer, Panathinaikos managed to enter the last quarter up by seven (53-46).
Efes made it again a four-point game (57-53) with Osman answering back (59-53) and Kostas Sloukas adding two free throws (61-53) to keep the distance with five minutes left. Osman scored two more free throws (63-53) to make it a double-digit lead with four points left, only for Efes to score five quick points (63-58) with Dan Oturu and Larkin.
Entering the last two minutes, Efes’ star closed the game to four (65-61) but couldn’t get any closer with Grant scoring and PJ Dojier missing two crucial free throws (67-61).
Grant scored again in the next possession (69-61), Osman added two free throws (71-61), and the game was over.
Photo credit: Eurokinissi