Greens and Reds both on a 1-1 series score
Both Panathinaikos and Olympiakos are now on a 1-1 score in their Euroleague playoff series, after the Greens defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday and the Reds went down at Barcelona on Friday.
At the Olympic Sports Hall in Athens, Panathinaikos bounced back from its four-point loss on Tuesday to win Game 2 with a 95-79 score.
Playing in front of a capacity crowd of 20,000 fans in what might be its last home game in Europe this season, Panathinaikos recovered from its poor start at the first quarter (when it trailed 28-20) with a 31-11 score in the second and managed to fend off a late comeback effort by the Israelis.
This time it was the Greens’ Greek players who stood out: Kostas Sloukas produced a Euroleague career record tally of 29 points, while Ioannis Papapetrou made 15 and Dinos Mitoglou 14.
The series now continues next Tuesday in Belgrade for Game 3.
Olympiakos, on the other hand, lost at Barcelona 77-69, but its win in Game 1 on Wednesday means it now enjoys the home advantage ahead of Games 3 and 4 in Piraeus next week.
On Friday Barcelona appeared more determined and led for almost the entire game. Its lead stretched as far as 13 points early on (27-14).
The Reds played catch-up for most of the match, but they will be happy going home with one win in two anyway.
Alec Peters appeared alone at times in the Olympiakos offense, scoring 20 points. Shaquielle McKissic and Nigel Williams Goss notched up 10 apiece.
