Ever-improving Greens see off Armani Milano
Panathinaikos entered the second group stage of the Euroleague on Thursday with a convincing 73-57 home win over Armani Milano to confirm its improvement in the last few weeks and look forward to the upcoming challenges in this tough group with more confidence.
The Greens dominated their visitor from start to finish, never allowing the Italians to harbor any hopes for an upset in Athens.
Playing in front of about 15,000 fans – a particularly high turnout by Panathinaikos supporters at the Olympic Sports Hall – the host advanced 20-14 in the first quarter and 38-31 at half-time asserting its authority.
In the second half Panathinaikos turned more cautious in defense while ruling the air with its rebounds (38 against 23 in total), to turn a six-point lead (43-37) into a 20-point advantage (62-42) that Milano could do nothing about.
Stephane Lasme was once again the man of the match for Panathinaikos with 11 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks and his countless energy that the Greek champions had badly missed at the start of the season.
James Gist was the top scorer for the Greens with 12 points while Roko Ukic notched up another 11. Captain Dimitris Diamantidis equalled his personal record with 11 assists.
