Panathinaikos is celebrating its return to the final four of the Euroleague after 12 years of absence, after the triumphant 81-72 over Maccabi Tel Aviv in the crowded 20,000 OAKA fans. The amazing Kendrick Nunn was the man to take him from safety to 3-2 in Berlin as well.
In the semi-final on May 24, at the stadium where they won the European trophy 15 years ago, the “greens” will face Monaco of Mike James or Fenerbahce of Sarouna Jasikevicius, Nick Kalathis, Giorgos Papagianni, Tyler Dorsey.
The lukewarm start (11-18) was quickly overcome and Panathinaikos overtook at the beginning of the second period with a three-pointer by Kendrick Nan: 22-21 and later 29-28 with the efforts of Juancho Hernangometh. Maccabi reached +5 again, but Kostas Sloukas orchestrated the counterattack of the “greens”: 41-41 at the break with Ioannis Papapetrou’s second three-pointer.
The experienced Slukas wrote 49-46 and the third quarter ended with 58-56, despite Matias Lessor’s missed shots (3/14). Panagiotis Kalaitzakis started the fourth period with two steals, the defense tightened and Panathinaikos reached 64-56 and 71-61 with new three-pointers by Nan, in a delirium of excitement. Lorenzo Brown cut it to 73-67 with long shots, but Lesor, Nan protected the gains.
Kostas Slukas finished the game with 15 points and 6 rebounds, but didn’t play much in the final quarter due to a pulled calf. The captain of Panathinaikos has participated in 7 previous final-fours.
The unstoppable Kendrick Nunn was Panathinaikos’ leading scorer with 26 points and 6/10 three-pointers. Hernangomet, sidelined due to a health problem, returned and scored 11 points in 15 minutes, but Dinos Mitoglou was limited to 3. Matias Lessor had 9 points and 11 rebounds.
Ergin Ataman, who won two trophies with Efes in 2021 and 2022, also used Grant 3, Kalaitzaki 2, Grigonis, Papapetrou 10, K. Antetokounmpo 2.
From the Maccabi of the once “green” Oded Katas, Lorenzo Brown was the best with 19 points. The son of former Olympic coach David Blatt, Tamir, added 9. Nimbo 14, Di Bartolomeo 9, Rivero 8 also stood out.
Now Panathinaikos counts 11+1 final-four qualifiers in the last 30 years. The “clover” has won the European trophy six times: Paris 1996, Thessaloniki 2000, Bologna 2002, Athens 2007, Berlin 2009, Barcelona 2011. It was defeated in the 2001 final (Super League) and “stumbled” in the semi-final stage in 1994, 1995, 2005, 2012.
The home team’s five-game winning streak in Euroleague playoff history now stands at 19. Since the establishment of best-of-5 series, no home team has managed to break the streak.
Olympiacos will try to break tradition on Wednesday night at 10 p.m. against Barcelona in Spain (2-2 after the “red and white” 92-58 on Maundy Thursday in Faliro), while two hours earlier the last match between Monaco and Fenerbahce (2-2) will be played in Monte Carlo.
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