2021-22Regular SeasonRound 4
Real Madrid 88
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens 65
October 15, 2021 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 WIZINK CENTER

Tavares, Abalde down Panathinaikos and lead Real to third win

In a battle of classic powerhouses, Real Madrid remained undefeated at home by topping Panathinaikos OPAP Athens 88-65 in the Spanish capital on Friday. Alberto Abalde and Sergio Llull each struck from downtown late in the first quarter to give Real a double-digit lead, 30-18, after 10 minutes. Abalde kept pacing Real, getting help from Thomas Heurtel to keep the hosts way ahead, 42-30, at halftime. Daryl Macon stepped up for Panathinaikos but Walter Tavares and Fabien Causeur gave Los Blancos a 62-46 margin late in the third quarter. Nothing changed after that, as Real cruised to a well-deserved win. Tavares led the winners with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Abalde added 16 points, Guerschon Yabusele had 14 and Vincent Poirier 10 for Real. Macon led Panathinaikos with 18 points, while Georgios Papagiannis added 12 and Kendrick Perry 10. Real improved to 3-1 while Panathinaikos dropped to 1-3.

Real raced into a fast start with a pair of inside scores from Yabusele establishing a 6-3 lead despite a triple from Macon. The home team then enjoyed an 8-0 tear with Tavares scoring 5 points in a row before Abalde struck from deep. A pair of close-range scores from Papagiannis got Panathinaikos moving, and Perry struck a pair of three-pointers to make it 19-13. But Real roared ahead into another double-digit lead, 30-18, before the end of the first as Abalde and then Llull, with a buzzer-beater, both hit from long-range. Jeffery Taylor started the second quarter with corner three, but the scoring then slowed down dramatically and it took more than six minutes for the next field goal as Ioannis Papapetrou hit a three-pointer. Macon added a transition layup to make it 35-23, but Heurtel responded from deep and Abalde added a fierce slam. Panathinaikos finished the first half strong through baskets from Papapetrou and Papagiannis, making it 42-30 at the break.

Macon stepped up with a fast break layup soon after the break and Papagiannis brought the guests within single digits, 43-34. Tavares rescued Real with an alley-oop slam and a layup but Macon and Okaro White got Panathinaikos even closer, 47-39. Yabusele and Tavares each dunked in a 6-0 run that gave the hosts plenty of fresh air at 53-39. Macon kept pacing Panathinaikos with 7 quick points but Causeur struck from downtown and added a fast break layup for a 60-46 Real margin. Poirier hit a jump hook but Papapetrou and Jehyve Floyd kept the guests within 62-50 after 30 minutes. Llull and Jeremy Evans exchanged three-pointers early in the fourth quarter, and Poirier took over with a three-point play that kept Real way ahead, 68-55. Rudy Fernandez joined the three-point shootout before Eleftherios Mantzoukas tried to change things with a layup-plus-foul, but Fernandez insisted from beyond the arc. Panathinaikos kept trying but Real kept a safe margin all the way until the final buzzer.

Abalde: big against the Greens

Alberto Abalde was once again decisive as Real Madrid overcame Panathinaikos. Abalde finished the game with 14 points on 3-of-3 three-pointers, 4 rebounds and a PIR of 16, and it was not the first time he has played a decisive role against the Greens. Last season, his first with Real, Abalde had 15 of his 19 points in the two overtimes that Real needed to get a 93-97 win in the Greek capital. It was a turning point for Abalde, and his highest-scoring EuroLeague game with Los Blancos. This season, Abalde had combined for 9 points in 3 EuroLeague games until tonight, but shined against the Green Giant.

Rebounds, intimidation help Real win

Real did not find much trouble to defeat Panathinaikos, protecting its paint really well and heavily outrebounding its opponents to cruise to an 88-65 victory. Panathinaikos shot the ball well from downtown (45.0% 2FG) and the foul line (94.1%), but struggled inside the arc. The Greens hit just 11-of-36 two-point shots, and had the second-worst percentage (30.6%) in more tan 500 EuroLeague games in club history. It only shot with a worse percentage (20.6%) against FC Barcelona in a 55-56 road win on January 10, 2008. On Friday night Madrid also won the battle on the boards by 42-29, pulling down 13 offensive boards and allowing just 8.

13 in a row for Real against Panathinaikos

By downing Panathinaikos, Real registered its 11th consecutive home win against the Greek powerhouse and 13th in a row overall. The Greens' last win in Madrid came on March 21, 2013, 73-74, behind 16 points from Kostas Tsartsaris and 14 from Dimitris Diamantidis. That was Coach Pablo Laso's only home loss against Panathinaikos in Madrid. OIn Friday, he improved to 12-1 against the Greek powerhouse on the night of his 54th birthday. Real and Panathinaikos have faced each other as many as 44 times in European basketball history. Real now has a 29-15 edge. But despite combining for 16 EuroLeague titles, Real and Panathinaikos have never played against each other in the Final Four!

Walter Tavares - Real Madrid - EB21
Friday, October 15, 2021
Euroleague.net
Referees: RADOVIC, SRETEN; PETEK, SASO; THEPENIER, HUGUES
Attendance: 4326
By Quarter1234
Real Madrid30122026
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens18122015
End of Quarter1234
Real Madrid30426288
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens18305065
Real Madrid
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 WILLIAMS-GOSS, NIGEL 18:49 4 2/3 0/1         4 2 4     3 1 2
1 CAUSEUR, FABIEN 12:49 8 1/1 1/4 3/4                 1 3 6
4 HEURTEL, THOMAS 21:11 3 0/2 1/3   1 2 3 7 1 3     2 3 8
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 15:55 6 0/1 2/3   1 4 5   1 1     1   8
6 ABALDE, ALBERTO 27:11 16 3/6 3/3 1/2   4 4 1 1 1     2 3 18
8 HANGA, ADAM 5:09           1 1 2   1     1 1 2
12 ALOCEN, CARLOS 2:31   0/1 0/1                       -2
17 POIRIER, VINCENT 20:23 10 4/6 0/1 2/4 3 4 7 2 1 1   1 2 4 15
22 TAVARES, WALTER 25:05 17 5/5   7/7 4 5 9   2 2 2   3 6 31
23 LLULL, SERGIO 15:15 6 0/2 2/3     1 1 3   1     3   3
28 YABUSELE, GUERSCHON 27:59 14 5/10 0/3 4/4 1 6 7 2 2 1   2 2 2 14
44 TAYLOR, JEFFERY 7:43 4 0/1 1/3 1/2 1 1 2           1 1 2
Team           2 1 3               3
Totals 200:00 88 20/38 10/25 18/23 13 29 42 21 10 15 2 3 21 24 110
        52.6% 40% 78.3%
Head coach: LASO, PABLO
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 PERRY, KENDRICK 29:49 10 0/4 2/4 4/4 1 4 5 5 1 2     3 6 16
5 MACON JR, DARYL 25:56 18 4/6 2/6 4/4   1 1 3 1 3     2 3 15
6 PAPAGIANNIS, GEORGIOS 33:10 12 4/8   4/4 2 4 6   1 2 2   3 2 14
7 BOCHORIDIS, ELEFTHERIOS 4:34   0/1       1 1     2     2   -4
10 PAPAPETROU, IOANNIS 19:33 7 1/4 1/3 2/2   1 1 2   4     3 4 2
14 KASELAKIS, LEONIDAS 4:30 2 0/2 0/1 2/2                   1  
15 WHITE, OKARO 17:57 6 0/4 2/3   1 1 2     2   1 4 1 -3
20 FLOYD, JEHYVE 6:45 2 1/2     1   1     1     4 1 -2
26 NEDOVIC, NEMANJA 16:10 3 0/1 1/2         2           1 4
40 EVANS, JEREMY 18:39 3 0/1 1/1     2 2   1 1 1   1   4
72 MANTZOUKAS, ELEFTHERIOS 13:38 2 1/1   0/1 1 3 4           2 1 4
74 SANT-ROOS, HOWARD 9:19   0/2       2 2     1   1   1 -1
Team           2 2 4     1         3
Totals 200:00 65 11/36 9/20 16/17 8 21 29 12 4 19 3 2 24 21 52
        30.6% 45% 94.1%
Head coach: PRIFTIS, DIMITRIS

Head Coaches

LASO, PABLO
Real Madrid

"I think the balance [from the double-week] is very positive. We got two victories, difficult victories, because the beginning of the season is always hard. We played aganst two very physical teams but were able to keep our composure. We had good moments, bad moments, but we were able to keep our composure in both games, and got both victories. So let's say I am happy for the results of the week, thinking that we have an ACB game on Sunday, and that we will have to be ready next week against a great rival like Fenerbahce. The EuroLeague continues, I am happy for this week, for these victories, and I enjoy seeing my players at the level that they showed this week."

"Congratulations to the guys for the victory. It is the fourth game of the five we have to play in 9-10 days, with trips, against tough opponents - strong, physically demanding teams. But I think that the team has been very solid. This is one of those days in which the coach feels very happy. It was not brilliant, but everyone worked steadily and explains the final difference in the end. We had a very good start, a little bit like in the previous game. I believe that in the second quarter, we had some easy shots that we missed, we had a lower level in certain defensive situations that did not allow us to run, but in general terms, defensively, we were very solid and had the feeling of being fresher in the end, breaking the game in the fourth quarter, against a very physical team that competes very well. We know it was going to be a hard game. We have to move on, but I am happy for these two wins in the EuroLeague this week."

PRIFTIS, DIMITRIS
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens

"The way we started the game was a problem. Then I think we fought but it was not enough. They have quality and we should be better offensively to support the defensive effort that we did. But it was not enough."

"Congratulations to Real. They played, for the most part, their game - regarding the tempo, the rhythm. We had a bad first quarter. We made an effort in the second quarter and played hard defense. We tried to come back but we had a very poor offense, and this is a bad combination: we need to play well at both ends against these teams."

Players

ABALDE, ALBERTO
Real Madrid
"It was really nice [to hear the crowd cheering him], but also I think the fans enjoy our game. We had to continue being solid, to control the game, because they are a good team and tried to come back. But we did well the things we did bad in the second half against Monaco. I am happy and we have to keep rolling."
TAVARES, WALTER
Real Madrid
"We are feeling great. I think we have a lot of room to improve. We know from last year and a couple of years ago, that the EuroLeague is super hard to play. We have to guarantee wins at home, and that is the key for us to go to the Final Four."
PAPAGIANNIS, GEORGIOS
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
"We were very hurt by the first quarter, when Real got a big difference. We had to constantly chase the score. In the second half we reduced the gap, we wanted to make the last effort in the fourth quarter, but again our opponent escaped. Walter Tavares is a very important player for Real. He helps a lot in defense and offense, and in creating the right distances. It's definitely a challenge for me every time I face him."
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