More road losses for Reds and Greens in Euroleague
Greek teams do not travel well this year in the Euroleague. All games Panathinaikos and Olympiakos have played outside of Greece so far have ended in Greek defeats, and this week has proven to be no exception.
Panathinaikos went down 76-69 at Zalgiris Kaunas on Tuesday, giving its Lithuanian host its first win after nine defeats.
The Greek champion continued deteriorating and there seems to be no intervention to change its fate.
In Lithuania Panathinaikos was so disjointed that it was only the personal efforts by Daryl Macon that kept it in the game. Of course his 21 points were nowhere near enough for the team of coach Dimitris Priftis to avoid slumping to a 2-8 record.
Then on Wednesday Olympiakos endured its fourth defeat in 10 games, surrendering in Istanbul to holder Anadolu Efes 88-69.
The Reds fought for the first three quarters, leading 25-23 after Q1 and going level (44-44) to the locker room at half-time. Yet after a balanced third period with the score at 68-66 in Efes’s favor, the Greeks abandoned the game.
The Turkish team enjoyed a partial 20-3 in the final period to stroll to an emphatic victory.
Sasha Vezenkov made 17 points for Olympiakos and Moustapha Fall added another 15.