Panathinaikos couldn’t really win the game against Alba Berlin, playing in a supporting role from the first third, which led to one of the biggest defeats in its history (94:65). Poor communication and defensive behavior combined with disappointing 2-point (4/16) and shooting (7/13) rates in the first half essentially doomed the Greens, whose lead had dropped to -31 midway through the fourth period .

From there, only the magnitude of the final difference changed, as Alba Berlin didn’t give Panathinaikos the right to believe they could return from Hell. This was the second loss in three games for Panathinaikos EuroLeague 2022/23, while Alba continued his impressive run, reaching 3/3 in the regular season. All of this in a night where Israel Gondaleth was deprived of the services of four of its main actors (Maudo Lo, Jalin Smith, Marcus Eriksson, Johannes Tiemann).

The MVP

Luke Sikma recovered from a bad night a week ago and did what he wanted against the great Panathinaikos. In the 26’16” he stayed on the court, he pulled off an impressive double-double with 16 points (using 4/7 doubles, 2/3 trebles and 2/2 shots) and 15 rebounds. He didn’t limit himself to that, of course, as he padded his stats even more with 6 assists and 2 errors.

The weak link

On a night like this, when everything has gone disastrously wrong, it’s not easy to pick just one. Let’s just say that Mateus Ponitka was the worst Panathinaikos villain in the game as he finished the night with 5 points in 1/8 shooting and 3/4 shooting. Along with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 4 turnovers.

The stat that stood out

Panathinaikos’ 30.8% on twos and 59.1% on shots explains a lot about the Greek team’s disappointing picture at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

The race

Panathinaikos started the game well, mostly because it worked defensively. At 4′, however, everything changed. For the worst. Dejan Radonić’s team failed to score with the boys until the end of the third, resulting in -8 (17-9). Finally, with 2/13 from home and 1 assist for 4 penalties, Panathinaikos couldn’t expect anything special at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

Early in the second period, the B unit (Andrew Andrews, Lefteris Mantzoukas, Lefteris Bohorides) did a great job with Andrew Andrews particularly leading the charge. Thanks to his own baskets, Panathinaikos managed to close the gap to -4 (25:21 at 15′). But again, two minutes of pace led to +11 (32-21 in 17′), with Tamir Blatt and Luke Sikma standing out.

The first part ended with +10 (43-33) for the hosts, perfectly explained by Panathinaikos’ 4/16 two points and 7 assists for 6 errors.

In the third period things went downhill (even more) at the expense of Panathinaikos. So strong that Alba’s difference jumped to +27 (60:33) in the 25th minute, while Dejan Radonić’s team went five minutes without a point. Bundled changes and a different tactical approach brought the small recovery. But here too, the -19 (64:45) in the 30th minute couldn’t bring a smile to the side of the Greeks, while the two-point quota (8/29 – 27.6%) remained disappointing.

From then on, the game became procedural as the Israel Gondaleth players didn’t give the slightest right to challenge their superiority. The gap remained far enough away from the point where Panathinaikos felt they could do something worthwhile, the two points continued to be an issue and this led to their second loss in three EuroLeague games of 2022/23.

THE REFEREES: Belosevic – Hordov – Trepenier.

THE DECADES: 17-9, 43-33, 64-45, 94-65.

ALBA BERLIN (Gondaleth): Prosinda 6 (1), Makowski 2, Dilow 5 (1), Wetzel 11 (1), Maticek 3 (1), Snyder 2 (0/4 2pts, 2/2 shots), Olidi 7 ( 1) , Kumanji 10 (5/6 2-pointers, 6 rebounds), Sikma 16 (2 3-pointers, 15 rebounds, 6 assists), Lammers 7 (1), Hand 15 (4/7 3-pointers, 3/ 3 shots, 7 assists), Zusman 10 (2).

PANATHINAICOS (Radonits): P. Kalaitzakis, Lee 11 (1 three-pointer, 4 rebounds), Papagiannis (0/4 two-pointers, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks), Bohorides 5 (1 three-pointer, 4 assists), Williams 6 (1/5 three-pointers) , Andrews 13 (2), G. Kalaitzakis, Ponitka 5 (1/8 shots, 3/4 shots, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 errors), Grigonis 14 (1/5 two-pointers, 3/6 trebles, 3 /3 shots), Mandzoukas 3 (1), Gudaitis 8.

The team statistics of Alba Berlin: 20/43 2-pointers, 13/27 3-pointers, 15/17 shots, 43 rebounds (34 defense + 9 offense), 24 assists, 8 steals, 7 turnovers, 3 blocks.

Panathinaikos team statistics: 12/39 2-pointers, 9/22 3-pointers, 14/24 shots, 38 rebounds (28 defensive + 10 offensive), 14 assists, 3 steals, 15 turnovers, 8 blocks.

The next games of the two teams: Panathinaikos returns to OAKA to host Monaco (21/10, 21:00), while Alba Berlin travels to Istanbul to take on Anadolu Efes (21/10, 20:30).