THE Panathinaikos lost to the Monaco in the Principality, with the defeat not bothering as much as the appearance of Ergin Ataman’s team, which fought without thirst and passion, presenting an image of resignation.
The final 92-84 perhaps it flatters Panathinaikos, who found themselves behind in the score even with 21 points and managed to close the gap in the end when Monaco relaxed.
Ergin Ataman’s side had some good spells, but their overall picture was problematic, with the defensive function of the trefoil getting below the base.
Absences on the front line
Panathinaikos has an excuse for the hand-over-heels defeat by Monaco. The greens were decimated on the high line in yet another game, with Lessor, Holmes and Samoturov injured and Yurtseven and Mitoglou struggling alone under the baskets.
The Turkish center was charged early with a foul and was not able to help as much as he would have liked, while the Greek forward/center continues to fly low.
Monaco’s tall guys didn’t do much damage to Panathinaikos, however the “short guys” did… walks under the green basket, in the absence of a good tall defender.
“We’ll see (if we’ll make a center transfer), now’s not the time to talk about it. We’ll see,” said Ergin Ataman after the match, leaving open the possibility of reinforcements in the front line.
Defense is ignored
In yet another Euroleague game, Panathinaikos got under the base in defense. The greens could not at any point of the match make their presence felt against the Monegasques.
Mike James and his company did not feel the clover, with the American guard doing his game, without having to break a sweat. He handed out 8 assists, “hit” Shorts in the defense and generally had a quiet evening, since the Panathinaikos players once again chose not to throw basketball… wood.
Something similar had to be done by Monaco’s other main guard, Okobo, who together with James were the leaders of the match.
With 92 passive points, Panathinaikos did not have much luck to claim anything good in the Principality.
Nan was fighting alone
Kendrick Nunn was back in the bigs, scoring 26 points, but he was hopelessly alone. Only Slukas and Juancho tried to help him on offense, with Shorts having a terrible performance (missing) and Osman being uncharacteristically inaccurate (3/7 2-pointers, 1/4 3-pointers).
The final -8 may prove decisive for Panathinaikos. The greens managed to collect the difference in the final, an important fact at the end of the regular season, since it is possible for the two teams to draw.
THE DECADES: 27-20, 50-41, 68-58, 92-84.
MONACO (Spanoulis): Okombo 15 (1/4 threes, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 turnovers), Blossomgame 11 (1), Tice 6 (6 rebounds), Diallo 9 (1/3 threes, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), Hayes 6 (5 rebounds), Nedovic 11 (2), Strazel 12 (2/4 3-pointers, 4 assists, 3 turnovers), Mirotic 9 (1/6 3-pointers), James 13 (8 assists, 3 turnovers).
Panathenaic (Ataman): Shorts (2 turnovers), Osman 9 (1/4 3-pointer, 8 rebounds, 2 assists), Sloukas 14 (3/3 3-pointer, 2 rebounds, 3 assists), Grant 5 (3 rebounds, 4 assists), Nan 26 (8/11 2-pointer, 2/5 3-pointer, 4/5 shots, 2 rebounds, 4 turnovers), Grigonis, Ernagomet 13 (2/6 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 2 steals), Mitoglou 8 (0/4 3-pointers, 5 turnovers), Yurtseven 9.
Monaco’s team stats: 26/39 2-pointers, 8/25 3-pointers, 15/18 shots, 36 rebounds (28 defensive – 8 offensive), 25 assists, 7 steals, 11 turnovers, 4 blocks.
The team statistics of Panathinaikos: 25/42 2-pointers, 8/24 3-pointers, 10/16 shots, 28 rebounds (21 defensive – 7 offensive), 15 assists, 7 steals, 10 turnovers, 2 blocks.