champ Panathinaikos edged Brose Baskets 71-66

Panathinaikos BC Athens finished the 2011-12 Turkish Airlines Euroleague regular season with a 7-3 record by downing Brose Baskets 71-66 in Athens, Greece on Wednesday night. Panathinaikos was second in Group B while Brose dropped to 3-7 to be fifth and therefore out of the Top 16. Brose needed to win and expect KK Zagreb Croatia Osiguranje to down Zalgiris in Kaunas, Lithuania, but none of that happened. Dimitris Diamantidis led the winners with 14 points. Ian Vougioukas added 12 while Kostas Kaimakoglou had 11 for Panathinaikos. Predrag Suput and Brian Roberts each had 11 points for Brose while PJ Tucker added 10. Panathinaikos was limited to just 2-of-16 two-pointers in the first quarter. Meanwhile, a three-pointer by Predrag Suput sparked a 0-10 run that allowed Brose to get a double-digit margin, 12-22, after 10 minutes. Brian Roberts struck twice from downtown and Karsten Tadda buried a big triple that made it a 12-point game, 22-34. Mike Batiste and Sarunas Jasikevicius brought Panathinaikos within 30-38 at halftime. Panathinaikos rallied after the break and a three-pointer by Diamantidis gave the Greens a 56-53 edge after 30 minutes. A three-pointer by Roberts tied it at 66-66 but Kaimakoglou answered from downtown and Romain Sato dunked it to make the Greens win the game.

Both teams struggled to score for more than 2 minutes until Tibor Pleiss stepped up with a layup-plus-foul. He soon added a tip-in for a 0-5 Brose lead. Panathinaikos missed its opening 8 shots, as Brose tried a tall lineup with Tucker at small forwards. Anton Gavel struck from downtown to cap an opening 0-8 run. Diamantidis rescued the Greens with a driving layup and a three-pointer. Pleiss took over with a two-handed dunk that Sato erased with free throws off a timeout. Sato kept pacing Panathinaikos with a tip-in but Tucker scored down low for a 9-12 Brose edge. Nick Calathes and Suput traded three-pointers, as the Greens tried a more dynamic lineup with Kaimakoglou at power forward. Marcus Slaugher hit a jump hook but a corner jumper by Julius Jenkins forced coach Zeljko Obradovic to stop the game at 12-19. The Greens were limited to just 2-of-16 two-pointers in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Slaughter allowed Brose to get a double- digit margin, 12-22, after 10 minutes.

Kaimakoglou scored around the basket early in the second quarter but Roberts answered from downtown for a 14-25 Brose margin. Steven Smith shined with a finger roll layup and an off-balance shot by Diamantidis brought Panathinaikos a bit closer, 18-25. Tucker buried a turnaround jumper that Vougioukas matched with a jump hook, as Panathinaikos played with more aggressiveness at both ends now. Roberts took over with another three-pointer but Smith kept pacing the Greens with an acrobatic jumper. Roberts shined with a layup in transition and a wild corner triple by Tadda made Panathinaikos call timeout at 22-34. Vougioukas made free throws and Jasikevicius copied him right after that to get the Greens going at 26-34. Batiste hit his trademark jump hook but Pleiss scored again and Jenkins split free throws to keep Brose way ahead, 28-37. A foul shot by Suput and a jumper by Jasikevicius fixed the halftime score at 30-38.

Sato buried a three-pointer right after the break and Batiste added a fallaway jumper to bring Panathianikos back in the game, 35-38. Diamantidis took over with a layup off an inbound steal that forced Brose to call timeout at 37-38, after a 9-0 run that bridged between both halves. Suput shined with a driving layup but Batiste erased it with a put-back basket. Slaughter split free throws but a layup by Kaimakoglou and an easy basket by Vougioukas completed the hosts' comeback, 43-42. Tucker scored in the paint and Jenkins bettered Calathes' free throws with a corner triple. Kaimakoglou stayed on fire with a tip-in but a layup by Slaughter restored a 47-49 Brose lead. Vougioukas shined with a power basket that Tucker matched with a five-meter jumper. Calathes scored in penetration and a dunk by Vougioukas put the Greens back ahead, 53-51. Tucker took over with coast-to-coast layup but Diamantidis answered from downtown for a 56-53 Panathinaikos lead after 30 minutes.

Vougioukas made free throws early in the fourth quarter and added a big block on Suput. Slaughter did not miss from the foul line but a catch-and-shoot jumper by Jasikevicius restored a 60-55 Panathinaikos lead with over 7 minutes left. Suput buried a three-pointer and a fast break layup by Tadda tied the game again, 60-60. Panathinaikos called timeout and Kaimakoglou stepped up with free throws but Suput answered with a floating layup and Roberts soon allowed the guests to get a 62-63 edge. The Greens struggled to score for more than 3 minutes but bad news kept coming from Kaunas, Lithuania, as Zalgiris won its game and left Brose with no chance to advance to the Top 16. Diamantidis made free throws and a jumper by Batiste allowed the Greens to get a 66-63 edge. Roberts struck from downtown but Kaimakoglou answered with a big three-pointer for a 69-66 score already in the final minute. Roberts missed twice from way downtown and a dunk by Sato allowed Panathinaikos to seal the win in style.