By Dionysis Aravantinos / info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens defeated 84-75 FC Barcelona Lassa on Day 17 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Thanks to tough defense and hustle plays, the Greek team got the important win with Nick Calathes and James Gist being one again a fearsome duo.
The star: Nick Calathes was once again the focal point on both ends of the court for the winners. PAO’s leader had a double-double as he finished with 17 points, 12 assists and five (!) steals.
The 31-year old James Gist was also impressive, as he put up 17 points and six rebounds, providing us also, many highlight plays. Nikos Pappas was also crucial, especially down the stretch, scoring all of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.
The game: With both teams playing physical defense (10 fouls in Q1), the game was competitive in the first five minutes (10-9). Thanks to a 0-7 run, Barcelona built a six-point lead (10-16) but the quarter ended 17-19 with Calathes’ repertoire responding for Panathinaikos. Alonso’s team tried to increase its lead in the second period, but James Gist’s incredible highlight plays kept the game close. With the first three-pointer of the night for the hosts, ‘Pana’ went up ahead (35-34) at 18′. The half ended 36-34.
In the second half, the game remained a close contest. Even though Pascual’s team was struggling from beyond the arc (1/14 after 30′ minutes), the home team managed to increase its halftime lead to six points (54-58) by the end of the third period thanks to its defense with Barcelona having already 13 turnovers.
Huertel was trying to keep the guests in the game but, with Vougioukas off the bench having a positive impact, Panathinaikos kept this eight-point advantage (62-52) with seven minutes left. The deficit increased to double-digits (67-56) at 35′ and the visitors could not pull a comeback in the remaining minutes. Pappas sealed the deal in the end. The ‘Greens’ now have a 12-5 record, while the visitors slipped to 6-11.
Thomas Huertel had a good game, leading the visitors with 18 points, while Ante Tomic finished with 12 points.