Panathinaikos – Zalgiris 83-96: Second loss against the latter

Panathinaiko’s OPAP was a disappointment for three seasons, going down to -23 (43-66 in 25′) against Zalgiris and fatally losing to OAKA (96-83) in a postponed game for Game 18 of the EuroLeague.

Dimitris Priftis’ players were bad on both sides of the court for most of the game and if Nemanja Nedovic hadn’t been there (16 points with 4/4 threes and 4/4 shots in the third period) the situation would have been even worse developed. Be that as it may, Panathinaikos OPAP suffered yet another defeat in this year’s tournament, the second of Zalgiris, who sits last in the standings.

All this at a time when Dimitris Priftis doesn’t even have the opportunity to work with his players the way he did due to the injuries (Ioannis Papapetrou, Stefan Jovic, Okaro White, Lefteris Bohoridis) that hit him after the cup final would like it – It is significant that after returning from Crete, the greens do not even complete a dozen for a double in training.

The MVP

Geoffrey Lovren remembered the good old days, at least before the serious injury that left him out of action for several weeks. Zalgiris’ main center finished the game with a double double (17 points, 12 rebounds) and overall was a constant source of unhappiness for Panathinaikos OPAP.

The weak link

You can’t point your finger at just one on a night like this. Dimitris Priftis’ players were really bad, only Nemanja Nedovic kept up his performance. The problem mainly had to do with defensive behavior and concentration, which was mostly gone with the result of Zalgiri’s 96 points.

The stat that stood out

Zalgiris went for a walk in OAKA, mostly because she aggressively didn’t meet the slightest resistance. The visitors managed to finish the game with 61.9% three-pointers and 42.3% three-pointers, reaching almost 100ara in a stadium that used to give them as little trouble as possible.

The race

It seemed like a bad day from the start for Panathinaikos OPAP, who faced successive possessions from Zalgiris, resulting in a -10 (5-15) in the 4th minute of the game. Dimitris Priftis changed faces, goals, direction, but the essence was the same. It is significant that the Shamrock’s coach got his two time-outs from the first ten minutes, which the hosts found at -19 (10-29) with 4/12 shots in a kid and 4 penalties.

The same bad image continued in the second period, with the deployed zone defense not performing at all. Zalgiris had a rhythm in attack, taking a lot from Edgaras Ulanovas and Zoffrey Lovern to keep the safety difference until the break. The half’s -18 (34-52) suggested things needed to change for Panathinaikos OPAP, including accuracy rates (1/8 three points) and rebounds (9 vs. 17).

If the first part was bad for Panathinaikos OPAP, the third ten minutes were even worse. At least for the most part, since Yuri Zdovch’s players did as they pleased on the OAKA floor. The difference reached +22 (38-60 in 24′) in the visitors, who had now improved percentage in the outside shot. In fact, the situation would have been tragic if Nemanja Nedovic hadn’t been on the trefoil side. Quite simply because the 31-year-old guard had 16 points with 4/4 threes and 4/4 shots in the tenth minute and was the only one up in attack to -15 (61:76) in the 30th minute.

In the last segment, something seemed to change for a while, but not to such an extent that it would create a new condition in the match. The only thing Panathinaikos OPAP managed to do was close the deficit to -14 (73-88 in 37 minutes) before being handed off to Zalgiris, who defeated it for the second time this season.

THE REFEREES: Wig – Ballack – Cardum.

THE TEN MINUTES: 10-29, 34-52, 61-76, 83-96.

PANATHINAIKUS OPAP (Priftis): Meikon 9 (7 assists), Papagiannis 11 (4/5 two points, 3/4 shots, 7 rebounds), Kavvadas 7, Kaselakis 9 (1), White, Avdalas, Nedovic 23 (3/6 two points ). , 4/9 trebles, 5/5 shots, 3 assists), Evans 8 (3 rebounds, 2 assists), Mantzoukas, Sant Ross 16 (3/3 twos, 2/6 trebles, 4/5 shots).

ZALGIRIS (Zdovts): Lekavitsius 8 (5 assists), Nimbo 6, Yankounas, Lukosiounas 6 (2/6 three points), Milaknis 16 (4/7 three points), Strelnieks 4 (1/4 three points), Cavano 15 (2 /3 three points) , 9 rebounds, 2 assists), Gifai 2, Lovern 17 (7/14 two points, 3/3 shots, 12 rebounds, 2 assists), Ulanovas 22 (7/9 two points, 2/3 three points, 2/2 shots, 4 rebounds, 2 assists).

Team Stats – Panathinaikos OPAP: 23/35 two points, 7/20 three points, 16/20 shots, 19 rebounds (14 defense + 5 offense), 17 assists, 4 steals, 10 errors, 4 blocks.

Group Statistics – Zalgiris: 26/42 two points, 11/26 three points, 11/11 shots, 32 rebounds (21 defensive + 11 offensive), 18 assists, 6 steals, 9 errors, 2 blocks.

The next commitments of the two teams: In three nights, Panathinaikos OPAP OAKA will host another match, this time against Armani Milano (4/3, 21:00), while Zalgiris will face Alba Berlin at Mercedes Benz Arena the day before (3/3, 21:00 ) .