Panathinaikos BC AKTOR defeated Anadolu Efes Istanbul 97–62 at Telekom Center Athens, in a game for the 38th and final round of the EuroLeague regular season. Top scorer for the Greens was Nikos Rogkavopoulos with 24 points. The Greens finished 7th in the EuroLeague regular season standings and will host AS Monaco on Tuesday (21/4) at Telekom Center Athens in the Play-In phase.

The game was balanced in its opening minutes, with the visitors leading 6–4 at the 3-minute mark and Panathinaikos BC AKTOR taking a 14–11 lead in the 6th minute. A minute later, the Turkish side went back in front (16–14), but in the 9th minute the Greens made it 20–16, which was also the score at the end of the first quarter.

Panathinaikos BC AKTOR extended the lead to 25–19 in the 12th minute and made it 32–26 in the 15th. At the 17-minute mark, it was 38–31 for the Greens, and in the 19th minute the lead reached double digits (44–34), before the halftime score was set at 45–38. Panathinaikos BC AKTOR pulled away to 54–38 in the 22nd minute, while in the 24th the difference reached +20 (58–38). In the 27th minute, the Greens built a 26-point lead (66–40), and by the 29th it had grown to +31 (71–40). The third quarter ended 71–43, and in the 33rd minute it became 79–45. The final minutes were purely procedural, as Panathinaikos BC AKTOR sealed a dominant 97–62 victory.

Quarters: 20–16, 45–38, 71–43, 97–62.

Panathinaikos BC AKTOR (Ataman): Shorts 8, Kalaitzakis 2, Osman 9 (1), Sloukas 2, Hayes-Davis 2, Rogkavopoulos 24 (4), Grant, Nunn 18 (3), Lessort 14, Faried 14, Hernangomez 2, Mitoglou 2.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul (Laso): Beaubois 5 (1), Hazer 13 (1), Loyd 15 (1), Lee 2, Weiler-Babb 2, Smits, Dessert, Poirier 8, Swider 2, Mutaf 10 (2), Yilmaz 1, Jones 4.

Ataman: “Everyone contributed, every game is a final from now on”

The head coach of Panathinaikos BC AKTOR, Ergin Ataman, said in the Press Conference following the home game against Anadolu Efes Istanbul:

“Our goal before the game was to win, so that we could secure home-court advantage in the Play-In. For Efes, it was difficult because they came without a specific goal and were missing important players. The players who played still have quality. In the third quarter, we played excellent defense, and offensively we found good shots. Rogkavopoulos was excellent, very aggressive. Lessort played well in the paint, everyone contributed. It’s over now. We are waiting for the Play-In game.

From now on, every game is a final. Monaco is a great team. They played with eight players tonight, but all eight are high-quality. With this roster, Monaco reached the EuroLeague final last season. It will be a difficult game. They have experienced players. We need to play aggressively and well to win. We will prepare. If our goal is to reach the Final Four, we must win. That is the reality. It will be very difficult. We will need a hot atmosphere, like in previous games, to give us extra motivation. I’m not thinking about Olympiacos. I’m only thinking about the game against Monaco.

Rogkavopoulos was injured and didn’t play in Spain. He underwent treatment and rested well. He was excellent tonight and I hope he continues like this in the next game.”