Panathinaikos BC AKTOR claimed an 81–77 road victory over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in a matchup for Round 16 of the EuroLeague regular season. Kendrick Nunn led the Greens in scoring with 25 points.

The game was balanced in its early stages, with the score remaining low and Panathinaikos BC AKTOR holding a narrow 5–4 lead at the 5-minute mark. At 7’, the hosts moved ahead 9–7, but a minute later the Greens regained the lead at 12–9. The first quarter ended with Panathinaikos BC AKTOR in front, 17–16, while at 11’ they extended their lead to 21–16. One minute later it was 24–18, before Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul cut the deficit to one point (23–24) at 13’. The Greens responded with a 4–0 run to make it 28–23 at 14’, and at 16’ the lead reached double digits (27–37). The hosts answered back, reducing the margin to 37–31 and then to 39–36 at 19’, before the halftime buzzer sounded with the score at 41–37.

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul took the lead early in the second half, going up 43–41 at 22’ and opening the third quarter with an 11–0 run to make it 48–41 at 25’. At 27’ the home side stretched the lead to 53–45, while the third quarter concluded with the score at 57–50. Panathinaikos BC AKTOR cut the gap to 60–57 at 32’ and tied the game at 60–60 one minute later. The Greens regained the lead with 6:30 remaining (60–62) and made it 69–64 at 35’. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul pulled within one (69–68) at 36’, but at 38’ Panathinaikos BC AKTOR extended the margin to 76–68 and held on until the final buzzer, securing a big 81–77 win in Istanbul.

Quarters: 16–17, 37–41, 57–50, 77–81.

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (Jasikevicius): Bacot 3, Birsen, Baldwin 11, Melli 6 (2), Horton-Tucker 22, Mahmutoglu, Boston Jr., Biberovic 15 (3), Hall 8 (1), Zagars, Colson 10 (1), Birch 2.
Panathinaikos BC AKTOR (Ataman): Shorts 5, Kalaitzakis, Osman 11 (1), Sloukas 7 (1), Rogkavopoulos, Grant 6 (2), Nunn 25 (2), Toliopoulos, Faried 4, Hernangomez 9 (1), Mitoglou 7, Yurtseven 7.

Ataman: “We played an outstanding first half”

The head coach of Panathinaikos BC AKTOR, Ergin Ataman, spoke at the Press Conference following the away game against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul:

“I think we played an outstanding first half. We were very good defensively. Offensively we made some mistakes, but we kept control of the game. In the second half, for five to six minutes we didn’t score. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul took control, found a good rhythm, and went up by seven points. After that, we changed everything and won the game. I don’t agree that we have been playing badly since the start of the season. With this win, we moved past Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. There are only two wins separating us from first place.”