2020-21Regular SeasonRound 11
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens 83
FC Bayern Munich 76
November 27, 2020 CET: 20:00
Local time: 21:00 OAKA

Nedovic, Sant-Roos help Greens end loss streak

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens registered a crucial 83-76 home win over FC Bayern Munich 83-76 at OAKA on Friday to end its four-game losing streak. The hosts had a slow start but a 21-3 run over 7 minutes let them take the game's steering wheel by early in the second quarter. Bayern gave up and managed to make it a one-possession game, 72-70, with less than 4 minutes to go, but tough defense and key baskets by Nemanja Nedovic allowed the Greens to push their record to 3-6. Nedovic led the way for the winners with 17 points and 6 assists, while Howard Sant-Roos contributed an all-around performance of 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals. Georgios Papagiannis and Ioannis Papapetrou posted 12 points apiece for Panathinaikos. Bayern, whose record drops to 7-4, was guided by Vladimir Lucic, who scored 20 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Jalen Reynolds and Wade Baldwin added 12 points each, followed by Paul Zipser with 11.

Nick Weiler-Babb and Lucic fueled Bayern from outside for an early 5-10 lead. Papagiannis responded on both ends to spark a 10-0 run capped by Shelvin Mack's reverse layup for a 15-10 Panathinaikos advantage. Bayern remained scoreless for 5 minutes as Konstantinos Mitoglou and Papapetrou extended the gap to 18-13 after 10 minutes. The hosts continued rocking as Aaron White hit a deep three, Sant-Roos downed a fastbreak dunk and Mack drained a corner triple as a 21-3 run finished with the Greens in front by 26-13. The visitors recovered offensive rhythm through Lucic and Baldwin, who combined for 12 points in a 5-13 spurt that brought Bayern within 40-35. The Greens reacted in style with powerful dunks by Bentil and Papagiannis to reach halftime leading 44-35. Baskets by Bentil and Georgios Kalaitzakis for Panathinaikos were all that fell for 5 minutes after the break. Lucic took advantage of an unsportsmanlike foul to bring Bayern within 48-40, then Jalen Reynolds scored 8 points in the blink of an eye to reduce the gap further, to 56-52. Nedovic and Sant-Roos replied to keep Panathinaikos ahead 60-54 entering the last quarter. Zipser's triple soon made it a one-possession game, 62-59, but Sant-Roos responded quickly from the same distance. An exchange of baskets saw the difference remained steady at 69-65 midway through the last quarter before Lucic showed up from behind the arc and Reynolds scored inside to make it 72-70 with less than 4 minutes remaining. That's when Nedovic took charge for the hosts. He nailed a three and an acrobatic fastbreak basket to boost the lead to 77-70 and followed with free throw with another fastbreak dunk in the last minute to make sure his team held off Bayern.

Defensive approach

Georgios Vovoras praised his team's defensive mentality after the game. PAO held Bayern to just 13 points on 2 field goals made in the first quarter, and when the visitors got within 72-70, the Greens held Bayern scoreless for 3 minutes to seal a key win.

Steal, run and score

Even though Bayern led the Euroleague in steals per game (8.0), it was Panathinaikos who excelled in that job tonight. The home team forced 17 turnovers on the German side and stole the ball in 10 occasions, which provided them with 19 fastbreak points.

Balanced offense

In addition to a superb defensive effort, Panathinaikos found key balance on offense, as each player that stepped on the court contributed with some points. Nedovic was the top-scorer with 17 points, but nine more players filled the stat line for the Greens..

Deadly couple

Nemanja Nedovic finished the first half with just 5 points on 2-for-6 shooting, but he took over when things got tough for his team. He scored 8 points in the last 3 minutes of the game to help turn back Bayern. Next to him, Howard Sant-Roos provided an all-around performance of 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals, good for a career-high index rating of 22.

Next games

Panathinaikos will play twice next week, starting with LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on the road in a rescheduled Round 3 game on Tuesday. Then the Greens travel to Italy to challenge AX Armani Exchange Milan on Thursday. Bayern Munich will return home to host Khimki Moscow Region on Friday. Nemanja Nedovic - Panathinaikos OPAP Athens - EB20

Friday, November 27, 2020
Euroleague.net
Referees: PERUGA, CARLOS; JOVCIC, MILIVOJE; RADOJKOVIC, JOSIP
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens18261623
FC Bayern Munich13221922
End of Quarter1234
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens18446083
FC Bayern Munich13355476
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 MACK, SHELVIN 16:33 5 1/3 1/3         2   3     3 2 -1
6 PAPAGIANNIS, GEORGIOS 30:11 12 5/8   2/2 3 2 5   1   2   2 1 16
7 BOCHORIDIS, ELEFTHERIOS 3:16 2     2/2   1 1 1   2 1   2 2 3
8 AUGUSTE, ZACH DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10 PAPAPETROU, IOANNIS 30:08 12 3/8 2/3   1 3 4 3   1   1 3 1 9
14 KASELAKIS, LEONIDAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
16 KALAITZAKIS, GEORGIOS 9:02 4 1/1 0/1 2/2   2 2 1 1       3 2 6
26 NEDOVIC, NEMANJA 27:58 17 5/8 2/7 1/2   2 2 6 3         5 24
30 WHITE, AARON 20:37 5 1/2 1/3     3 3 1 1       2 2 7
44 MITOGLOU, KONSTANTINOS 9:49 3 1/2 0/1 1/2 1   1       1   1 1 2
50 BENTIL, BEN 18:38 9 3/5 1/2     2 2 2   1   1 2 3 9
74 SANT-ROOS, HOWARD 33:48 14 2/2 3/6 1/2 3 4 7 5 4 2     3 1 22
Team           2 2 4     1         3
Totals 200:00 83 22/39 10/26 9/12 10 21 31 21 10 10 4 2 21 20 100
        56.4% 38.5% 75%
Head coach: VOVORAS, GEORGIOS
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
FC Bayern Munich
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 WEILER-BABB, NICK 29:52 9 0/4 1/2 6/6   4 4 1 1 2   1 5 5 7
2 BALDWIN IV, WADE 27:19 12 3/11 1/3 3/3   1 1 3   7   2 1 3 -1
8 REYNOLDS, JALEN 20:35 12 6/10     2   2     2 1 1 2 1 7
9 THOMAS, MALCOLM 12:00   0/1     2 1 3 2     1   2 1 4
11 LUCIC, VLADIMIR 37:34 20 3/4 2/7 8/9 1 5 6 1 2       1 5 26
12 FLACCADORI, DIEGO 5:16               1         2   -1
15 AMAIZE, ROBIN 3:24     0/1                     1  
16 ZIPSER, PAUL 25:01 11 2/2 2/5 1/1 1 6 7           2 3 16
31 SISKO, ZAN MARK 17:33 9 3/4 1/1   2 1 3 2 1 3     4 1 8
43 RADOSEVIC, LEON 21:26 3 1/2   1/2   3 3 2   2     1 1 4
44 GRANT, SASHA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
66 RUDAN, MATEJ DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           3 2 5     1         4
Totals 200:00 76 18/38 7/19 19/21 11 23 34 12 4 17 2 4 20 21 74
        47.4% 36.8% 90.5%
Head coach: TRINCHIERI, ANDREA

Head Coaches

VOVORAS, GEORGIOS
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
"During a season with so many games you are going to have some good game and you are going to have bad games, but the key is to stay together as a family, and to fight. I think the reaction we had after the last two games, in practices, showed us the way we have to play. We practiced good, and we played good, too. We played very well defensively; it was a totally different picture. We kept the focus for the 40 minutes, because they are a very good team and you need to play very well against a good team. I think that for the whole game, for the 40 minutes as a total, we had the persistence we needed in order to win this match, especially when you have to compete against a team like Bayern, who didn't have the same pressure we had. It's a very confident team. Our main goal was the defensive approach in the game, and this is how we started the match, especially in the first quarter. We had an excellent defensive approach, and this is exactly the mentality we need to have in the future in order to be more competitive in the Euroleague."
TRINCHIERI, ANDREA
FC Bayern Munich
"Congratulations to PAO. They played harder, with more energy, they deserved to win. We didn't match their energy and that cost us three very bad quarters. In the end, we found the way as usual to compete and to get back in the game, making it a one-possession game, but we made three critical, crucial, terrible mistakes on defense and that cost us the win."

Players

BENTIL, BEN
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
"Our plan was to go out on the court and put our bodies on the fire, something we did. The point is to stay ready even in the games you do not play and when the team needs you, to be there. Panathinaikos must win like the Boston Celtics. It's a matter of pride for us as well as for the Boston Celtics. From now on we need to look at each game separately and give 100 percent to it. [Howard] Sant-Roos is the loco. He wants to be our leader, to put the shots in, and tonight he showed it."
NEDOVIC, NEMANJA
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
"There were four losses, against very good teams. We have to say that we played very good teams away, and in the Euroleague you won't have easy games, nothing is given to you. Today, we came out with the defensive mentality, with the fighting mentality to win this game and we did a great job. Bayern is in great shape and we held them to 76 points, so I think that says we did a good job tonight. It's not something I'm used to, but I think I have the capability to play defense. It's very hard to play on both ends of the floor because the teams guard me very hard, and have to work both on offense and defense, but that's my job and I like it. We have to keep fighting."
SANT-ROOS, HOWARD
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
"It feels good to finally add stats to my game, add stats to the team. I know we say a lot about our defense mentality but to be all-around is still good. We've got to be aggressive for the 40 minutes, not just only 25 or 30, to play the whole game, be exhausted and stay aggressive the whole game."