Euroleague: Panathinaikos surrenders to Fenerbahçe and will seek its seventh European Cup | Basketball | Sports

Euroleague – semi-final – working day 1

Panathinaikos

Fenerbahce

The first battle of the Final Four began off the court. Dozens of Fenerbahçe fans were detained by German police for forcibly entering the Uber Arena for the match against Panathinaikos. The tension continued in the stands between the Greek fans and those of neighboring Olympiacos. The match started almost half an hour late, and with the ball in play there was less discussion. Ataman’s team defeated Jasikevicius’ team (73-57) and will seek its seventh European Cup.

The green tide went crazy with the start of its troops: 12-0 in four and a half minutes against a Fenerbahçe without answers until Jasikevicius ordered a stop. The pavilion roared and Panathinaikos flew with baskets that were as fast as they were comfortable. The yellow team was stuck in forced shooting positions, with its tongue hanging out in the back quarter. Some shots didn’t even touch the rim. More than five minutes passed before Hayes-Davis grabbed his team by the chest. The departure of Sloukas and the push of Lessort fueled the greens with spice while Fenerbahçe found some oxygen with Sanli’s dance between the paint and the zone (22-13 after the first quarter).

Hayes-Davis and Guduric woke up the yellows, now more engaged in the game in both rings, especially in the one they had to defend. Ataman made use of Juancho Hernangómez, back to the stage where he hit seven triples in the Eurobasket 2022 final against France. The Spaniard sang an outside bingo on his first attempt (32-23), although the streak ended there and he ended up substituted after a loss and a failure, and was harassed by Ataman (he never played again for a second). Kostas Antetokounmpo stopped Wilbekin with a block while his brother Giannis, an NBA star, was present in Berlin like the legendary Scottie Pippen. Panathinaikos barely kept its lead with Lessort at the top, although the gap had narrowed to almost zero. A three-pointer by Hayes-Davis led to half-time with everything at its best: 38-36 after 16-23 in the second quarter.

Calathes made his debut as a scorer in an exchange of baskets and with the score equally tight (47-45). The match had fully entered the agony of each action and the temperature was rising in the Uber Arena due to actions that were increasingly at the limit of the regulations. Game interruptions were continuous. Dorsey made it 51-50 and Fenerbahçe had a couple of possessions to take the lead for the first time in the semifinal. He didn’t get it right and at 56-50 the final station was reached.

Fenerbahçe had had their chance and had let it slip away. Panathinaikos could now play with the clock against a more hasty opponent. Even the temperamental Jasikevicius was the one who asked for calm in the face of the turnovers of his boys, victims of anxiety and only capable of scoring two points in almost six minutes. From the closest confrontation we went to the greatest difference (65-52). The pavilion shook again with the jumps of the green fans and the final minutes were a Greek ride (73-57). Jasikevicius, a four-time Euroleague champion as a player, was once again without success as a coach despite reaching the Final Four in five of the last six editions, three with Barcelona. Panathinaikos will seek its seventh European crown, the first since 2011.

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