Greens go down in the end, Reds succumb earlier [highlights]

Panathinaikos got mighty close to beating Euroleague holder Anadolu Efes in Turkey, only to lose to a buzzer beater, while Olympiakos surrendered easily to Maccabi at Tel Aviv, as the Greek teams remain winless in the Euroleague in 2022.

The improved Greens matched their host all the way in Istanbul on Friday and very nearly upset them, losing 82-81 in the end to an Adrien Moerman triple.

Despite the absence of injured center Giorgos Papagiannis, the Greek champion was dominant in rebounds (40 against 33) and had substitute center Vasilis Kavvadas contribute eight points.

The Greeks also had Nemanja Nedovic make 20 points and Ioannis Papapetrou 17. They are now on a 4-15 record.

Olympiakos lost more ground in the top eight, going down 84-69 at Maccabi on Thursday.

The Reds, who have 12 wins in 19 games, were unable to contain a spectacular Ante Zizic; he had 23 points and six rebounds, leading the Israeli giant to ending its losing streak.

Several Olympiakos players underperformed on the night, especially after half-time (when Maccabi led 40-38). Giorgos Printezis had 13 points and Tyler Dorsey added another 12, against his former team.