Panathinaikos AKTOR secured an away victory over Promitheas Vikos Cola (97-59) and clinched a ticket to the Stoiximan GBL Finals. Jerian Grant was the top scorer of the night for the Greens, finishing with 15 points.

The game had a good pace from the opening minutes, with the Panathinaikos AKTOR players forcing several turnovers early on and extending their lead to +10 (9-19) by the 7th minute. The first quarter ended with Panathinaikos up by 6 (18-24), before the lead narrowed to +4 (27-31) by the 14th minute.

Promitheas Vikos Cola took the lead for the first time in the 16th minute (34-33), but Panathinaikos AKTOR responded immediately, regaining control (38-42) before both teams headed to the locker rooms for halftime.

At the start of the second half, the Greens stepped on the gas, building an 18-point lead (38-56 in the 24th minute) and a 22-point cushion by the end of the third quarter (51-73). The gap widened even more midway through the final period (59-81 in the 35th minute), with Panathinaikos AKTOR ultimately sealing the dominant win (59-97) and advancing to the Stoiximan GBL Finals.

Quarters: 18-24, 38-42, 51-73, 59-97.
PROMITHEAS VIKOS COLA (Papatheodorou): Lountzis 8 (1), Bazinas 16 (3), Shittu 1, Varnado 8 (2), Iwundu 10 (2), Papagiannis, Lagios, Prekas, Oikonomopoulos 2, Karagiannidis 12 (1), Williams 2.
PANATHINAIKOS AKTOR (Ataman): Brown 14, Osman 12 (2), Grant 15 (2), Gabriel 7, Mitoglou 2, Kalaitzakis 12, Moraitis 2, Sloukas 5 (1), Samodurov 10 (2), Papapetrou 4, Yurtseven 14.

Ataman: “It felt like we were playing at OAKA”

Ergin Ataman spoke about qualifying for the Stoiximan GBL Finals and commented on the rotation in Game 2 against Promitheas Vikos Cola.

Here’s what he said in detail:

“First of all, I want to thank our fans, because in an away game, it felt like we were playing at OAKA. They were fantastic. The entire arena was filled with our supporters, offering incredible support once again. That’s very important for a team that always draws a lot of energy from its fans.

As for the game, I can say that in the first half we played in slow motion — it wasn’t our style of play. At halftime, we talked things over and in the second half we played at our regular pace, which allowed us to finish the game. We knew that Promitheas Vikos Cola was missing two key perimeter scorers. This series was easy for us — we’re done with the semifinals and starting our preparation for the Finals.”

When asked about the absence of Kendrick Nunn and the rotation in the second semifinal, he replied:
“Kendrick had a minor finger injury, nothing serious. I gave Juancho a rest because we didn’t need him. I really liked how Samontourov has improved a lot over the past three or four months and he helped us. I also like that the minutes we give him mean rest for other players.”