2014-15Regular SeasonRound 4
November 07, 2014 CET: 20:45
Local time: 21:45 OLYMPIC SPORTS CENTER ATHENS

Panathinaikos cruises past EA7 Milan at home

Panathinaikos Athens solidified second place in Group B of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague with a 90-63 wire-to-wire victory at home over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. Esteban Batista led the way for the Greens with 15 points in pushing the team to a 3-1 record. A.J. Slaughter and Nikos Pappas both added 11 points and Dimitris Diamantidis chipped in six points, seven rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Milan dropped to 1-3 in the group despite Samardo Samuels scoring 18 points, Joe Ragland hitting for 13 and Marshon Brooks adding 11 points. Daniel Hackett scored eight of his nine points in the fourth quarter while Alessandro Gentile went scoreless – the duo having combined for 24.0 points per game coming into the contest.

First quarter: Red shot start by Panathinaikos sparked by Giankovits, Diamantidis

Panathinaikos coach Dusko Ivanovic sent out the same starting five as last week in Diamantidis, Slaughter, Vlantimir Giankovits, Antonis Fotsis and Batista. Milan boss made one change with Linas Kleiza starting instead of Nicolo Melli alongside Ragland, Hackett, Gentile and Samuels. Giankovits started the game with a three-pointer and was matched by Ragland from the left corner. Diamantidis and Fotsis followed with three-balls and Slaughter nailed a long two before Batista put back his own miss to make it 13-5 early. Samuels moved down the baseline for a dunk and his second basket. Panathinaikos continued its superb start with Giankovits feeding Fotsis for a dunk and then dropping another three-pointer, missing the extra free throw which could have completed the four-point play, but giving the hosts their first double digit lead 18-7. Hackett temporarily stopped the bleeding with a free throw after a technical foul for flopping by Diamantidis. The Panathinaikos veteran came back and made two foul shots himself and then fed Julian Wright with a long pass for a layup and a 22-8 advantage. Samuels tried to keep Milan in the game with a putback basket and Ragland knocked down a three-pointer from the right wing to get the guests within 23-13 after one quarter.

Second quarter: Batista scores 11 points in final six minutes of quarter

The second quarter started the same way – with a Panathinaikos three-pointer, this time by Janis Blums to push the margin to 26-13. Ragland got Milan on the board and Brooks’ two foul shots trimmed the gap to single digits at 26-17. After a Wright putback, Shawn James split two free throws and then Ragland hit a three-ball just about from Italy, getting the guests to within 28-21 and forcing coach Ivanovic to call a time-out. After the hosts could not convert on its first possession, David Moss drained a trey from the right corner as Milan was as close as 28-24. Milan went the next two minutes without a point and the gap was back out to 35-24 as Batista sandwiched two baskets around another Blums trey. Brooks’ offensive rebound and putback snapped the scoring drought but Batista dunked after a fine give-and-go with Diamantidis and then somehow got an acrobatic shot to fall and completed the three-point play for a 40-26. Batista’s next basket made it 42-28 before Samuels and James Gist swapped dunks at the end of the first half, which ended with Panathinaikos ahead 44-30.

Third quarter: Slaughter, Pappas, Wright help hosts pull away

Milan gave up the ball to start the second half with Giankovits getting the steal and going up for a breakaway dunk. Slaughter added two free throws and Fotsis hit a nice layup for a 50-30 lead and a Milan timeout. Slaughter’s floater increased the cushion to 52-30 before Brooks finally got the guests on the board with a free throw after more than two minutes of action. Samuels followed with a basket but Slaughter answered with a three-ball and Diamantidis and Batista combined for three free throws and a 58-33 advantage. Milan did manage the next five points but Pappas came on for four straight free throws, Wright scored five points, Gist threw down an impressive rebound dunk and Pappas ended the third quarter with a driving layup for a 71-43 cushion.

Fourth quarter: Greens reserves don’t let up

Ragland started the fourth quarter and Hackett made two free throws to bring the guests within 71-47. Blums knocked down a jumper and Gist hit a hook to re-establish the 28-point lead. Loukas Mavrokefalidis came on for his season debut for the Greens and even knocked down a jumper to make it 77-49. With the game well decided, Hackett did his best to limit the damage with a breakaway layup, three-pointer and one free throw to bring it to 77-55. Slaugther however threw down a dunk and Mavrokefalidis converted a three-point and Milan would not get closer than 22 points the rest of the way on a Brooks three-pointer for 82-60.

Julian Wright - Panathinaikos Athens - EB14
Friday, November 7, 2014
Euroleague.net
Referees: PUKL,SASA; LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT; VOJINOVIC, MILIJA
Attendance: 10580
By Quarter1234
Panathinaikos Athens23212719
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan13171320
End of Quarter1234
Panathinaikos Athens23447190
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan13304363
Panathinaikos Athens
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 CHARALAMPOPOULOS, VASILIS 6:25                              
6 SLAUGHTER, AJ 21:38 11 3/6 1/4 2/2   1 1 2   1     1 2 8
7 BOCHORIDIS, ELEFTHERIOS 10:45   0/3       1 1 3   2     4   -5
8 JANKOVIC, VLADIMIR 20:00 9 1/1 2/4 1/3 1 1 2 2 1 1     1 3 11
9 FOTSIS, ANTONIS 15:36 7 2/2 1/2   1 2 3 1         3   7
11 PAPPAS, NIKOS 20:54 11 2/3 1/2 4/4   4 4 3 1 1     3 2 15
12 MAVROKEFALIDIS, LOUKAS 7:58 5 2/5   1/1       2   2     2 1 1
13 DIAMANTIDIS, DIMITRIS 24:38 6   1/1 3/3 1 6 7 8 2 1     2 4 24
14 GIST, JAMES 24:24 9 3/3 1/1 0/2 1 5 6 1   2     2 3 13
15 BATISTA, ESTEBAN 18:56 15 6/10   3/3 1 3 4     3     3 4 13
18 BLUMS, JANIS 15:40 8 1/1 2/2     1 1 1         1 1 10
21 WRIGHT, JULIAN 13:06 9 3/4   3/6 3 2 5   1 1 2 1 1 3 13
Team           1 2 3               3
Totals 200:00 90 23/38 9/16 17/24 9 28 37 23 5 14 2 1 23 23 113
        60.5% 56.3% 70.8%
Head coach: IVANOVIC, DUSKO
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
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 RAGLAND, JOE 31:11 13 2/4 3/7     2 2 7 1 1     4 2 14
2 BROOKS, MARSHON 18:55 11 2/4 1/4 4/6 2   2     2   1   3 6
5 GENTILE, ALESSANDRO 19:51   0/1     2   2 4   2     5 1 -1
6 GIGLI, ANGELO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 CERELLA, BRUNO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 MELLI, NICOLO 18:37   0/2 0/1     3 3   1 3     3   -5
10 MEACHAM, TRENTON 2:26           1 1               1
11 KLEIZA, LINAS 21:23 4 1/1 0/4 2/3   1 1     1     2 3  
21 JAMES, SHAWN 16:07 3 1/3   1/2 1 2 3 1     1   1 1 5
23 HACKETT, DANIEL 24:00 9 1/6 1/4 4/5   2 2 1 3 1   1 3 7 8
24 SAMUELS, SAMARDO 23:53 18 7/8 0/1 4/5 1 2 3     1     3 4 18
34 MOSS, DAVID 23:37 5 1/2 1/3     1 1 2 1       3 1 4
Team           1 2 3     2         1
Totals 200:00 63 15/31 6/24 15/21 7 16 23 15 6 13 1 2 24 22 51
        48.4% 25% 71.4%
Head coach: BANCHI, LUCA

Head Coaches

IVANOVIC, DUSKO
Panathinaikos Athens
“It was an important game in our group, in which every team can beat every opponent. Winning at home always gives you a big advantage. I am very happy with the intensity we started the game and we kept it for until the end. EA7 Emporio Milan is experienced and has good players, but we didn't allow them to play their game. I am also impressed by our fans, who support the team and make the players overpass their limits. I have to say that I have very good players, who are good persons as well. Their biggest asset is that they understand the game and are very ambitious. Either in sports or in life, you can only succeed if you are dedicated and have the ambition to improve every day”
BANCHI, LUCA
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
"Congratulations to Panathinaikos for their victory. Tonight we saw another great game by their side, while on the contrary, we didn't resist against their pressure on both ends of the floor. We came back in the second period, but then they soared up once again and it was very difficult for us to remain competitive. It is time to improve our performance and fight for 40 minutes. We have a very good team, but we have to show who we are in the road games. Last season, we made it to the playoffs, although a lot of people didn't give us that credit after the loss to Panathinaikos in the Top 16 opener. We tried to prepare our players to withstand on such tough court, but it didn't work. They played an incredible game and confirmed our fears. Panathinaikos makes some very simple things, but those simple things are very important in a game. And when you have a player like Diamantidis, everything becomes easier."

Players

JANKOVIC, VLADIMIR
Panathinaikos Athens
"We try to give our best, in order to defend our house. This is the main target and we can accomplish it by performing such a great defense, and not allowing our opponents to score as they usually do. We hit big three-point shots, but we are well prepared for the day that we will not have success from behind the arc. Concentration is the biggest need in Euroleague and I think that all of us understand it. We know our goal in every game, and we fight for that, not considering either the margin or who is the star."
GIST, JAMES
Panathinaikos Athens
"We had a great game at both ends and this proves our potential. The team has a lot of talent, including big stars and alternatives, so it doesn't matter who is starting the game and who is coming from the bench. We keep playing as a team, with energy, desire to win and a very aggressive style. Compared to last season, where we played all games around 65 points, now we have a totally different style. In the last two games we scored 90 points and that makes the difference."
BATISTA, ESTEBAN
Panathinaikos Athens
"We played a great game. We were very focused on defense. We just tried to do our job on defense and tried to play good offense. I think we did that in the first half. We took control of the game in the first half and never let them back into it."