Usually Panathinaikos Itoudis had to applaud

Nobody would have thought that this terrible foursome by Marios Grigonis would completely change the course of the game. Panathinaikos, wearing either the short opening figure or the Priftis belts, had put CSKA to the test in the first seven minutes of the game when it passed 20:17 thanks to a basket from Ioannis Papapetrou. The sequel was like a storm in the Russian steppe where you can’t hide.

The Russians pulverized Panathinaikos, who already had the problem of the many days of inactivity due to the coronavirus, an additional obstacle to see the already (very) best of CSKA Moscow. A resounding 23: 0 with successive three-pointers (11/18 from the line in the first part of the guests) with reading of every defense and every attack. The weak Panathinaikos was 9:15 minutes without a basket and the difference skyrocketed.

CSKA, which has suffered many injuries this year (played without Claiborne), cannot be compared to PAO. The fact that a player like Alexei Svend came out quickly and came back in the end shows the depth of the squad and its great potential.

The handicap reached -30, Panathinaikos tried to collect it, reduced it to -24 and there, less than a minute before the end, Dimitris Itoudis requested a time-out. The (due to the measures) almost empty OAKA began to disapprove of the Greek coach because he considered his move to be excessive and had escaped during the difference.

And yet they should have applauded him. The former key employee of Zeljko Obradovic, present in five of the six Panathinaikos Euroleague, did nothing other than what he learned as a member of the large team of the “Greens”. A self-respecting team did not relax and had to recover in seconds. Itoudis is continuing this work at CSKA. This is how teams work that have grandiose goals, win trophies and stand out from others.

Instead of disapproving of the friends of PAO, they should applaud Itoudis, who, unlike her team, still thinks and plays at the highest level and claims the trophies that were once a “green” affair. And it was a break from then. The CSKA coach simply reminded the public of the details that make a team great. The people of Panathinaikos should remember this and not get upset, considering that it was an act that amounted to an insult to the “Greens”. On the other hand.

Not even a foul

The Euroleague is not going well for Panathinaikos. We wrote it after the heavy defeat against Olympiacos. It will take a lot of effort on the part of Prifti and the players to find the motivation, but also to exaggerate themselves in order to escape such bad nights when the ax seems to fall heavily on them.

When CSKA stepped on the gas and founded a party in OAKA, Panathinaikos seemed to accept his ordeal stoically. As if he had to twist his cheek every time, he went crazy while eating slaps. The Russians paraded and PAO finished half-time with just three fouls.

This is not the first time Panathinaikos has suffered such a mess this year. He’s very fragile in his psychology, once the game goes wrong he doesn’t do anything … wrong. Obviously he is missing a lot at this year’s PAO to compete with teams at CSKA level, but his level cannot be lost with 30 points.

However, it toppled him and what follows is a series of games that Panathinaikos faces because if you lose by 20 and 30 points, although obviously only the national competitions are interested, the crashes in Europe combined with the fatigue (and travel) can also affect the goals of the group …

Waiting (for) Jovic

However, we should include the recent transfer of Stefan Jovic in this plan to strengthen the squad to defend the title in Greece. Given his many months out of the field, we will not see immediately how much he can help and change Panathinaikos, but in considerable time.

The Serbian playmaker is obviously an excellent organizer and equally good performer, but he lacks the games to have rhythm and to focus his light on a problem from the start in the “1” position. The Euroleague will serve to slowly warm up Jovic, bring him back to the high level and tie in with the other Panathinaikos guards, one of whom will lose a lot of participation time.

The question “why now Jovic and not earlier” has to do with the willingness of the player, although the “Greens” spent their time in vain with the Ferrell solution, which did not fit into the overall package, but did not fit, and it differs greatly from Central Perry . The American guardsman, who started as a key player, played his best game in the Euroleague.

In a match that ended with +24 points at the top of his team …