Panathinaikos BC AKTOR earned a 78–53 road victory over Karditsa Iaponiki, in a game for the 18th round of the Stoiximan GBL regular season. Richaun Holmes led the Greens in scoring with 20 points.

The opening minutes were evenly contested, with the two teams tied at 2–2 in the 3rd minute. Panathinaikos BC AKTOR moved ahead 8–5 at 6’, but the hosts responded to take a 10–8 lead a minute later. The Greens bounced back to make it 13–10 at 9’, before the first quarter ended with the score at 16–12 in their favor.

The visitors continued to control the game, maintaining a +6 lead (23–17) at 15’, extending it to 28–19 at 17’ and then reaching their first double-digit advantage (30–19) a minute later. The first half concluded with Panathinaikos BC AKTOR ahead 32–22.

Panathinaikos BC AKTOR pulled away early in the third quarter, making it 43–26 at 23’ after an 11–4 run. One minute later, the lead grew to 46–27, and at 25’ it surpassed the 20-point mark with the score at 49–27, completing a 17–5 run.

At 29’, the Greens remained firmly in control, stretching the margin to +28 (63–35), which was also the score at the end of the third period. By the 32nd minute, the difference had already climbed to +30 (69–39), giving the remainder of the game a procedural character, with Panathinaikos BC AKTOR sealing the win at 78–53.

Quarters: 12–16, 22–32, 35–63, 53–78.

Karditsa Iaponiki (Papanikolopoulos): Estrada 11 (1), B. Jefferson 1, Horchler 6, Liapis, Poulianitis, Upshon 6, Diplaros 8 (2), Kamarianos 2, Kasselakis 1, Kamperidis, Washington 11, D. Jefferson 7 (1).

Panathinaikos BC AKTOR (Ataman): Shorts 8, Kalaitzakis 8 (2), Osman 7 (2), Holmes 20, Rogkavopoulos 6, Samodurov 2, Grant, Toliopoulos 11 (3), Faried 2, Hernangomez 10 (3), Mitoglou 4.

Ataman: “Our defense was good throughout the game”

The head coach of Panathinaikos BC AKTOR, Ergin Ataman, stated during the Press Conference following the road game against Karditsa Iaponiki:

“Our defense was very good throughout the entire game. We took away all of Karditsa’s options. In the first half, we made many mistakes on offense and missed easy shots around the rim, so we didn’t have the chance to put the game away early. In the second half, we continued to play strong defense and once we started scoring with all our players and found our rhythm, we won the game comfortably.”