By Dionysis Aravantinos / info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens easily defeated Crvena Zvezda 91 – 71 at home to keep the home court advantage hopes alive and for the eighth straight year qualify for the playoffs.
Thanks to a great start to the game and Panathinaikos‘ impressive duo of Calathes and Singleton, PAO improved to 16-11 on the season. The ‘Greens’ went on a 17-2 run since the jump ball, showing their mentality and focus early on with Singleton scoring in multiple ways. For the first five minutes of the contest, Crvena only scored one bucket and shot 1/8 from the field.
Panathinaikos’ forward had a great and efficient night, finishing with 21 points (4/4 2p. 4/5 3p.) and four rebounds. His ‘partner in crime’ and leader of this team, Nick Calathes also had an impressive game as he put up a unique stat line: 17 points (7/8 FG), 10 assists, five rebounds, and a career-high six (!) steals.
On the other hand for Crvena, Allen Omic finished with 15 points.
Even though Crvena tried to stay in the game in the second period, cutting the deficit to just four points (36-32), Panathinaikos responded perfectly. In the second half, Pascual’s team increased this lead to 20+ points (68-47) with Antetokounmpo and Calathes impacting the game on both ends of the court.
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