2015-16Regular SeasonRound 9
December 11, 2015 CET: 20:45
Local time: 21:45 OLYMPIC SPORTS CENTER ATHENS

Panathinaikos steamrolls by Zielona Gora into Top 16!

Panathinaikos Athens soared into the Top 16 and avenged an earlier defeat by blasting Stelmet Zielona Gora 82-51 at home in the Greek capital on Friday. With its third consecutive victory, Panathinaikos raised its Group C record to 5-4, good for a third-place tie with Zalgiris Kaunas, its opponent in the regular season's final game next week. Panathinaikos got 18 points and 7 assists from Nick Calathes, while James Gist scored 14 points and Vladimir Jankovic 10 for the winners. Zielona Gora got 11 from Mateusz Ponitka, all of which he scored in the first quarter. Zielona Gora, which needed to win to survive, fell to 2-7 and will pass after the new year into the Eurocup Last 32. Panathinaikos broke open a close game after one quarter with a 56-24 run between the start of the second and the middle of the fourth.

First quarter: Greens surge into lead

Gist flew to the rim for a second-chance basket and Ponitka got behind the defense for a dunk to get their teams going. Then, in reverse order, they each downed three-pointers to make it 5-5. Calathes hit the next open shot from the wing for an 8-5 Panathinaikos edge. Ponitka drilled free throws that were answered with a layup by Sasha Pavlovic. Lukasz Koszarek downed free throws to keep Zielona Gora within 10-9. Calathes drove for a layup and Raduljica turned for a layup as Panathinaikos jumped ahead 14-9. Dejan Borovnjak came out of a Zielona Gora timeout and converted a three-point play for the guests. Miroslav Raduljica fed Calathes for a nice reverse that Ponitka matched with free thros at 16-14. Dimitris Diamantidis got the line for his first points, but Koszarek answered with a triple and Ponitka finished a break with a reverse for Zielona Gora's first lead, 18-19. After a Panathinaikos timeout, Jankovic drove for his first basket and a new lead for the hosts. Raduljica added to it with free throws at 22-19. Diamantidis fed Ognjen Kuzmic for a nice layup, but J.R. Reynolds drilled a fastbreak triple to keep it close. Diamantidis found Jankovic for a back-door layup before Adam Hrycaniuk hit a free throws for the visitors to end the first quarter 26-23.

Second quarter: Calathes, Gist push Greens higher

James Feldeine joined the Panathinaikos scorers from the arc for a high lead of 29-23 to open the second quarter. Koszarek answered with a smart layup, but Feldeine was back with a one-hander from the lane, to which Gist added free throws to make it 33-25. Gist then made a steal and Calathes went coast to coast for the first double-digit lead, 35-25. Out of a Zielona Gora timeout, Dee Bost fed Szewczyk for two back-door baskets, the second a reverse, to make it 35-29. Kuzmic downed a basket inside, then Calathes hit a free throw and lobbed to Gist for a beautiful alley-oop dunk. And when Diamantidis found Kuzmic for his second basket in succession, it was 42-29. A technical foul on Diamantidis led to free throw by Koszarek, but Calathes came out of a timeout and buried a triple at 45-20. Przemyslaw Zamojski answered from the corner before Diamantidis fed Fotsis underneath to give the hosts a 47-33 halftime edge.

Third quarter: Greens pour it on

Calathes picked up where he had left off, burying a triple to start the second half. Hrycaniuk responded with an inside bucket but the Greens kept pouring it on with layups by Gist and Calathes. Then Raduljica fed Gist for a dunk and Calathes hit Jankovic for a layup and a commanding 58-35 advantage. Bost's 5 points for Zielona Gora were answered by a three-pointer from Jankovic and stop-and-pop jumper by Feldeine at 64-40. J.R. Reynolds found a triple for the guests, but Panathinaikos stayed safely in front 67-47 after three quarters.

Fourth quarter: Panathinaikos slams the door

Raduljica spun for a hook shot and Antonis Fotsis fired in a triple from the corner as the Panathinaikos lead climbed to 72-47 at the start of the fourth quarter. Out of Zielona Gora timeout, Diamantidis curled for a layup and Fotsis struck again from downtown making it a 30-point advantage, 77-47. The lead was up to 81-47 before Zielona Gora finally got its first points of the final quarter - a fastbreak layup by Szewczyk - after almost 7 scoreless minutes. But by then the Greens had done their job on both ends and taken the high road into the Top 16.

James Feldeine - Panathinaikos Athens - EB15
Friday, December 11, 2015
Euroleague.net
Referees: HIERREZUELO, DANIEL; BISSANG, JOSEPH; MANTYLA, PETRI
Attendance: 6200 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
Panathinaikos Athens26212015
Stelmet Zielona Gora2310144
End of Quarter1234
Panathinaikos Athens26476782
Stelmet Zielona Gora23334751
Panathinaikos Athens
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 PAVLOVIC, SASHA 12:04 2 1/1 0/2   1 1 2 2   1     3 1 1
5 CHARALAMPOPOULOS, VASILIS 11:15   0/1     1 2 3 4 1           7
8 JANKOVIC, VLADIMIR 21:58 10 3/3 1/2 1/2 1 4 5 4   1     2 1 15
9 FOTSIS, ANTONIS 15:42 9 1/1 2/2 1/2                   1 9
10 RADULJICA, MIROSLAV 20:30 6 2/4   2/2   3 3 3   1   1 1 5 12
11 PAPPAS, NIKOS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 FELDEINE, JAMES 28:21 8 2/3 1/8 1/3   3 3 3   2     3 4 3
13 DIAMANTIDIS, DIMITRIS 20:40 6 2/3 0/1 2/2   1 1 6       1 3 1 8
14 GIST, JAMES 19:01 14 4/6 1/2 3/5 1 5 6   1 2     1 4 17
15 CALATHES, NICK 30:59 18 4/4 3/4 1/2 1 4 5 7 3 4     2 4 29
19 PAPAGIANNIS, GEORGIOS 7:12 1 0/3   1/2   4 4       1   1 1 2
21 KUZMIC, OGNJEN 12:18 8 4/6   0/2 2 7 9           2 1 12
Team           2   2               2
Totals 200:00 82 23/35 8/21 12/22 9 34 43 29 5 11 1 2 18 23 117
        65.7% 38.1% 54.5%
Head coach: DJORDJEVIC, SASA
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
Stelmet Zielona Gora
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 BOST, DEE 16:56 5 2/6 0/4 1/1 2 1 3 2 2 1     3 1 1
2 REYNOLDS, JR 18:36 8 0/1 2/4 2/2   1 1 1 1 2     3 3 6
10 SZEWCZYK, SZYMON 30:10 6 3/4 0/2   2 3 5 2 3 1     3 1 10
11 PONITKA, MARCEL 5:17 2 1/2       1 1     1     1 1 1
20 PONITKA, MATEUSZ 26:41 11 2/3 1/1 4/4 2 3 5 3   3 1     6 22
33 GRUSZECKI, KAROL 18:43   0/1 0/5     3 3 1     1   2   -3
34 HRYCANIUK, ADAM 19:52 5 2/6   1/2 1 4 5 1   4     5 1 -2
35 ZAMOJSKI, PRZEMYSLAW 19:46 3 0/2 1/4   1 1 2   1 1     1 1  
41 BOROVNJAK, DEJAN 17:57 3 1/10   1/1 3 2 5     1   1 4 2 -5
55 KOSZAREK, LUKASZ 26:02 8 1/6 1/2 3/3   1 1 3         1 1 6
Team           1 2 3               3
Totals 200:00 51 12/41 5/22 12/13 12 22 34 13 7 14 2 1 23 17 39
        29.3% 22.7% 92.3%
Head coach: FILIPOVSKI, SASO

Head Coaches

DJORDJEVIC, SASA
Panathinaikos Athens
"I think that we had the proper approach to the defensive needs of the game and that was the critical factor for us to win. We advanced to the Top 16, but we should have made it earlier and not just in Game 9 of the group. Zielona Gora came here without its power forwards and our big men took advantage of their weakness. When you win by 30 points in a Euroleague game you have not much comment to make. Every player wants to play his role on the team, but there are ups and downs. We keep our concentration and the faith in the defensive plan, which pushes our offense. Our goal is to improve our game and play better in the next round. I put the pressure on the players in order to try harder, play better, take advantage of our strong points and hide our weaknesses."
FILIPOVSKI, SASO
Stelmet Zielona Gora
"Congratulations to Panathinaikos for their excellent game and the big win. We lacked energy and this is a main reason for our defeat. They were faster, stronger and more concentrated than us. We played good only in the first quarter and that was not enough. Tonight, Panathinaikos showed its power and I wish them the best."

Players

JANKOVIC, VLADIMIR
Panathinaikos Athens
"We had some ups and downs until now, but in the last games we play at a standard level and this happens because of the more practices we have all together. Our target was to make it to the Top 16 and we did it, no matter how. Now we have the opportunity to make a reset and play much better. There are some possibilities to be in the same group with Olympiacos and I can't say that this option is the best for us. Regardless the result of our last game, in Kaunas, we have to go on and try to improve our performance especially in the road games."
DIAMANTIDIS, DIMITRIS
Panathinaikos Athens
"We didn't start with much energy and let them score a lot, but as the time went by we improved our performance and finally had an easy victory. Now we are in the Top 16, which is a difficult task to accomplish, so we need to play much better there. The defensive stability and some details are the main things we have to improve. We work hard in the practice and I think that we are in the right way."
CALATHES, NICK
Panathinaikos Athens
"We achieved our first goal, by advancing to the Top 16, and now we will see what is coming next. Zielona Gora played good in the first half, but since then we improved our performance and had a comfortable win. I think that good defense and lot of energy were the key points for us tonight and I hope that we will keep playing like that in the future. We take one game at a time and hopefully we get better and better in the next round. After the first quarter, we didn't allow them to play their game and score, so the game ended as we would like to. Regarding me career high in points, I like it, but I don't see it as a major issue. Whatever the opponent gives me in offense , I will take it, but my priority is to create for my teammates"