Panathinaikos AKTOR suffered a defeat against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in the first semifinal of the EuroLeague Final Four. The leading scorer for the Greek team was Cedi Osman, who recorded 22 points.

Panathinaikos AKTOR started the game with strong defensive play and initially took the lead. However, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul responded quickly with a series of successful perimeter shots under pressure, gaining the upper hand (13-5 at the 5-minute mark). The Greek side found itself trailing by 10 points (22-12) shortly before the end of the first quarter and then by 13 points (31-18) at the 13-minute mark. Gradually, though, the team began to recover. The defense intensified, the backcourt players of Panathinaikos capitalized on their individual plays, and the deficit was reduced to five points (38-33) by halftime, thanks to a buzzer-beater by Kendrick Nunn.

At the start of the second half, Panathinaikos AKTOR narrowed the gap even further, coming within one point (45-44) at the 27th minute. However, the quarter ended with Coach Ergin Ataman’s team trailing by seven (55-48).

In the final period, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul maintained its lead, while Panathinaikos AKTOR fought for every possession but was ultimately unable to overturn the score (67-56 at the 35th minute). The game concluded with Panathinaikos AKTOR falling short in the first semifinal of the Final Four in Abu Dhabi.

QUARTERS: 22-14, 38-33, 55-48, 82-76.
FENERBAHCE BEKO ISTANBUL (Jasikevicius): McCollum 13 (3), Baldwin 10, Melli 9 (1), Sanli, Hayes-Davis 7 (1), Biberovic 15 (3), Hall 18 (4), Pierre 2, Guduric 3 (1), Colson 3 (1), Birch 2.
PANATHINAIKOS AKTOR (Ataman): Kalaitzakis, Brown, Sloukas 2, Osman 22 (3), Papapetrou, Grant 15 (3), Nunn 19, Lessort 7, Gabriel 4, Hernangomez 5 (1), Mitoglou, Yurtseven 2.

Ataman: “Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul Deserved the Win”

Ergin Ataman congratulated Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul following the Turkish team’s victory in the EuroLeague Final Four semifinal held in Abu Dhabi.

Here is what he stated in detail:

“First of all, I want to congratulate Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. They deserved the win; they played much better than we did. Especially on defense, we struggled to find solutions, particularly against their man-to-man switches. We made too many mistakes.

In the second half, we tried to get back into the game. We lost Kendrick Nunn to five fouls and didn’t make the most of our opportunities. We made errors in one-on-one situations—McCollum had a great game. Their guards outperformed ours and they secured the qualification. Congratulations to Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.

We couldn’t find the solutions we were looking for. Our perimeter players tried to attack, but encountered strong defense and were unable to get the shots they wanted. In the end, we brought in Mathias, and from there we managed to score some points.”

When asked about Mathias Lessort’s return to action after five months, he responded: “I put Mathias in despite the fact that he hadn’t played in the last five months. I think we used him well, and I believe that, day by day, he will continue to improve. He’ll come back even stronger, especially for the Greek League finals.”

He concluded: “McCollum’s three-pointers were very important, but that’s basketball—sometimes you make those tough shots, sometimes you don’t.”