By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
In a clash between the last two EuroLeague champions, Panathinaikos Aktor mishandled a ten-point cushion in the first half but recovered to beat Fenerbahce Beko, 81-77, in Ulker Sports Arena on Tuesday.
Snapping a two-game losing streak in the 2025-26 Regular Season, Ergin Ataman’s side improved their overall record to 10-6, including five wins over nine away outings. With Richaun Holmes (knee) and Mathias Lessort (ankle) remaining out, alongside healthy scratches in Marius Grigonis, Giannis Kouzeloglou, and Alexandros Samodurov, Kendrick Nunn recovered from a minor left ankle injury on Monday to come off the bench for the first time this season. He scored a game-high 25 points in Istanbul.
Lasting nearly 27 minutes, the 30-year-old guard connected 8/17 field goals. Making two triples, he extended a three-point streak to 11 EuroLeague outings. His efforts also went into four steals and four assists. “I just had to step up. It was a big game. It was undecided if I was going to play or not, pregame with the ankle, but life is bright, with the defending champs, and I had to come and get the victory,” he mentioned in a postgame interview.
Barely extending a double-digit Performance Index Rating streak to 12 games, Kostas Sloukas paired his seven points with seven assists against his former team before limping off the court in the final seconds. Returning from a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Cedi Osman chipped in 11 points. Juancho Hernangomez went for nine points, five rebounds, and two assists, while Konstantinos Mitoglou added seven points and six rebounds.
On the Turkish side, the team coached by former Greens player Sarunas Jasikevicius was forced to 9-6, after six consecutive wins in Europe’s premier club competition and 12 across all competitions since late October. A third loss in nine EuroLeague home games for the defending champions.
“The guys had a crazy spirit. We were fighting with a little bit shorter rotation. But in general, we slept through the first half completely. In the second half, too much forcing, and we were not ourselves. Many turnovers, 22. We really made it easy to PAO,” recapped the 49-year-old Lithuanian play-caller.
Talen Horton-Tucker tallied a team-high 22 points, including 16 in the last ten minutes. Tarik Biberovic followed with 15 points, Wade Baldwin IV netted 11 points, and Bonzie Colson had ten points. Mikael Jantunen (ankle), Onuralp Bitim (ankle), Scottie Wilbekin (knee), and Jilson Bango (knee) stayed on the injury list, with Mert Emre Eksioglu and Yigit Hamza Mestoglu left out of the lineup as well.
Before the Round 16 affair, the hosts held a jersey retirement ceremony to celebrate the contributions of the former player of both sides, 51-year-old Ibrahim Kutluay.
Moving to Round 17, both sides bounce back on Thursday, with Panathinaikos hosting Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv in Telekom Center Athens and Fenerbahce visiting EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Allianz Cloud.