By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
In a Round 29 thriller, Panathinaikos Aktor suffered a narrow home defeat to Paris at the Telekom Center Athens. Despite a spectacular season debut from recent acquisition Nigel Hayes-Davis, the Greens were unable to overcome the French side, falling 16-13 in the 2025-26 EuroLeague Regular Season and slipping dangerously at the bottom end of the Play-In Showdown zone.
The 31-year-old reigning Final Four MVP with Fenerbahce Beko was nearly unstoppable for the Greek powerhouse. He dropped 27 points on 9/17 shooting, including four triples. However, the nail-biter was defined by a controversial final sequence, when he missed a potential go-ahead three-pointer. He later claimed on social media that Leopold Cavaliere admitted to fouling him on the attempt.
“He told me he fouled me,” he revealed.
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The tension boiled over moments later when Hayes-Davis was whistled for a foul on Justin Robinson. Panathinaikos play-caller Ergin Ataman was ejected for his protests, leaving lead assistant Christos Serelis to address the media. “It was perhaps a foul on Nigel,” Serelis remarked, echoing the frustrations of the Athens crowd.
Team owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos also took to social media to criticize the officiating, tagging the EuroLeague and stating, “Even though Paris was better than us for 39 minutes, a foul is a foul, and that would have changed the outcome.”
Meanwhile, Paris moved to 10-18. Head coach Francesco Tabellini praised his squad’s resilience, “I’m very happy for my players,” he noted in a postgame press conference, “It was important to stick to our identity.”
In Round 30, the team based in the French capital visits Kosner Baskonia in Fernando Buesa Arena, and Panathinaikos takes on rival Olympiacos in the Peace and Friendship Stadium. Both games are scheduled for next Friday.