Home triumphs for Greeks in Euroleague
Panathinaikos and Olympiakos employed different ways but still managed to notch up much needed home victories for the Euroleague this week.
Olympiakos continues to top the table after its 95-89 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv on Friday in Piraeus.
A stellar second period sufficed for the Reds to secure victory in this one that could have gone wrong in the end when the Israeli visitors staged a threatening comeback. The Reds’ defense was not on a par with previous performances, but the offense saved the day at the Peace and Friendship Stadium.
The Greek champion, that had Sasha Vezenkov score 23 points and Shaquielle McKissic another 13, enjoys now a 14-7 record.
Panathinaikos played a mediocre first half, got jeered by its fans at half-time, and then came out of the locker room to put 62 points past Zalgiris and win 89-65 on Thursday after what its coach branded the Greens’ best 20 minutes this season.
Zalgiris made the most of yet another slow start by Panathinaikos to lead 42-27, but a mesmerizing Paris Lee (5/6 triples) led the Greeks’ comeback that saw them score a partial 62-23 in the second half.
Lee made 24 points, while Mateusz Ponitka and Dwayne Bacon scored 13 each for the Greens who have an 8-13 record.
