Panathinaikos – Armani Milano 75-76: A shot by Hines at 2” judged the result

Contrary to what happened against Zalgiris three nights ago, Panathinaikos OPAP’s effort this time was proportional to the weight of the jersey. Despite this, Dimitris Priftis’ team failed to get the win against Armani Milano. The visitors stayed put in OAKA thanks to a 1/2 shot from Kyle Hines at 2” and clinched a valuable away win for home field advantage in the playoffs.

The race

Panathinaikos OPAP started the game with a diametrically opposite image regarding the three-day appearance against Zalgiris. He had intensity in defense, right decisions in attack and somehow he quickly found himself at +7 (7-0), forcing Ettore Messina to call a time-out at 7’13” in the first period. The visitors were very unlucky overall and if they didn’t take advantage of the home team’s poor attrition, things would be much worse for them. With 3/13 shots for Armani Milan, Panathinaikos OPAP’s +5 (19-14) would be characterized as a small lead.

However, Ettore Messina’s players gradually found an aggressive rhythm in the second period. A little the failure of Nemanja Nedovic from the periphery (1/6 three points) a little the lost defensive rebounds allowed Armani Milan to recover and – thanks to the quick points of Giampaolo Rizzi – tackle the shot (28-26 in 16 ‘ ) . Control of the rhythm was in green hands up to this point, a bad three minutes (and stuff…) but it brought ups and downs, with Panathinaikos OPAP finishing the first part -4 (36-40). with Sergio Rodriguez (6 assists) and Malcolm Delaney (12 points) doing the most damage to Dimitris Priftis’ defense.

After the break, the greens’ aggressive problem worsened. Mainly because they dribbled more than passed while Nemanja Nedovic missed a shot. From the moment Troy Daniels scored back-to-back threes, Armani Milano extended their lead to +11 (49-60 in 28 minutes), at a time when Panathinaiko’s OPAP were clearly out of rhythm on either side of the court.

The odds might not have been on their side, but Dimitris Priftis’ players didn’t give up. In any case, they couldn’t get any closer than the three ball possessions (61-69 in 36′), which on the one hand for their inability to find great heads from the periphery and on the other hand for some (non-)decisions the referees had to pay for were -at least- controversial.

Still, the greens found the power and path (yes Nemanja Nedovic is good) to bring the game to a tie (75-75) at 25.6”. However, a lost defensive rebound in the last defense of the game played its part. Kyle Hines grabbed the ball, fought the foul and went to the firing line with 2” left to finish.

He bet the first (the most critical) and intentionally lost the second, giving Armani Milano the win in OAKA.

THE REFEREES: Radovic – Kortes – Petek.

THE TEN MINUTES: 19-14, 36-40, 51-63, 75-76.

The next commitments of the two teams: Panathinaikos OPAP will return to EuroLeague on March 17, playing Olympiakos away after next week’s game against Zenit was postponed. For his part, Armani Milano will be tested at the Real Madrid stadium (3/10).