Panathinaikos BC AKTOR defeated Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 91–69 at the Telekom Center Athens, in a game for Round 13 of the EuroLeague regular season. Top scorer for the Greens was Kendrick Nunn with 26 points.

The game was balanced in its opening minutes, with Panathinaikos BC AKTOR leading 12–10 in the 4th minute, before Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade went ahead 18–12 at 6’. The Greens cut it to 18–17 a minute later, but the visitors managed to pull away 29–23 at 9’, ending the first quarter ahead 31–27.

In the 11th minute the Serbian team made it 35–29, with the Greens closing to 35–33 a minute later and tying the game 35–35 at 13’. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade went up 39–35 at 15’, but in the 17th minute Panathinaikos BC AKTOR took the lead 40–39.

Halftime found the Greens ahead 48–44, and in the 24th minute they maintained that four-point margin (54–50). At 25’ Panathinaikos BC AKTOR stretched the lead to 58–50, and in the following minute the gap reached double digits (61–50).

The lead ballooned to 20 points (70–50) at 29’, before the end of the third quarter at 73–50. The Greens’ run grew to 25–0 (77–50) by the 32nd minute, when the visitors finally scored again after nine minutes, making it 77–52. At 34’ Panathinaikos BC AKTOR went up 82–54, with Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade reducing to 82–58 at 36’. The final 91–69 sealed the dominant performance of Panathinaikos BC AKTOR at Telekom Center Athens.

Quarters: 27–31, 48–44, 73–50, 91–69.

Panathinaikos BC AKTOR (Ataman): Shorts 5, Kalaitzakis, Sloukas 7 (1), Rogkavopoulos 13 (1), Samodurov 3, Grant 8, Kouzeloglou, Nunn 26 (3), Faried 12, Grigonis, Hernangomez 8, Mitoglou 9 (1).
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (Obradovic): Milton 9, Muurinen, Washington 8, Osetkowski 4, Marinkovic 4, Pokusevski 4, Brown 16 (3), Bonga 6, Parker 7 (1), Fernando 9, Calathes, Jones 2.

Ataman: “We played incredible defense”

Panathinaikos BC AKTOR head coach Ergin Ataman stated during the post-game press conference following the home matchup against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade:

“Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade started the game very well, especially in the first quarter. We had several problems today defending the pick-and-roll, and they scored many points in the paint. Early on we struggled. In the second quarter we changed our defense and switched on the screens. The switches helped, we controlled their pick-and-roll, and we performed well defensively.

Offensively, we began to use Sloukas better, we organized ourselves well and took control of the game until halftime. The third quarter was our best period. We went on a 25–0 run. We played incredible defense with great energy and eliminated the mistakes we made in the first quarter. Offensively, both Sloukas and Nunn played very well—Sloukas controlled the game, distributed the ball correctly, and Nunn scored at the most crucial moments. From that point on, everyone contributed a lot. We had 44 rebounds, showing our energy, and 25 assists, showing the quality of our offense.

There is a reality: since Faried joined the team, our defensive strategy started to work. We have won four games and at times played very strong, dynamic defense. This helps us play with more confidence. Early on I had many complaints because we played poor defense, but after the third quarter I was very satisfied because we defended excellently. This shows that we have the ability to defend well; it just requires mental focus, and that’s what we must improve for the next games—to do it from the start.

Faried is a center, and for us the center is like a goalkeeper. Before Faried, we played good games with Holmes or Yurtseven and won. But there was a stretch where we played without a center and it was our worst period. We lost defensive control and balance. Faried understood our defensive strategy and helps the whole team improve. I also want to mention Juancho Hernangomez, who helped us a lot in the second half, both defensively and in rebounding, where he was excellent.

When you have a deep roster with good players, that is the most important thing in such situations. Osman was injured, so Rogkavopoulos played more minutes and contributed well. That’s why with a strong roster you can use many players. Today we didn’t use Shorts much because Sloukas and Grant were very good, but two weeks ago Shorts was excellent in Paris and Madrid. Not all 12 players can perform at the same level every night. Someone may be injured, someone may be unwell, someone may not be in good form, but the important thing is that he is replaced by someone with equal capability.”