Another heavy loss for improved Panathinaikos in Moscow
Panathinaikos raised its performance since Tuesday but still suffered a 20-point loss at CSKA Moscow on Thursday to find itself trailing 2-0 after Game 2 of the Euroleague play-offs.
Having lost by 27 points in Game 1, Panathinaikos tried to match its host in the second match but still lost 100-80 on the night and has a mountain to climb if it is to take the series to a fifth game, back in Moscow. That would require a double victory in the next two games to take place in Athens next week.
The Greens were more competitive and even led 14-11 at the start before CSKA took over to lead 21-14 after the first period and 47-35 at half-time.
Despite the Greeks’ efforts on the night there was no way back for them, with the lead exceeding 20 points on several occasions as CSKA’s Greek coach Dimitris Itoudis deployed an evergreen Andrei Kirilenko, scorer of 16 points in 18 minutes.
As the match went on defenses got more relaxed and Panathinaikos ended the game with six players reaching double figures in their scoring. They were led by the impressive youngster Vassilis Charalampopoulos who made 14 points in 22 minutes through an impeccable shooting rate: 2/2 free throws, 3/3 two-pointers and 2/2 three-pointers.
“We could have done better,” said the 18-year-old forward after the game.
Game 3 will take place on Monday in Athens.
