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Panathinaikos OPAP went against the tide and the chances were much more difficult (competitively and mentally) compared to what they showed in the Super Cup and they beat Khimki (76-78). In a game where the absences of the teams prevailed (the greens did not have Pierre Jackson, Howard Sand Ross and Aaron White, while the hosts played without Alexei Svend, Greg Monroe, Stefan Jovolj, Stef JoviΚ and Eric Mack) The last three minutes and thanks to great baskets from Ioannis Papapetrou, he achieved victory in the Euroleague premiere for 2020/21.
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The MVP
On a night when Nemanja Nedovic was far from his good condition (7 points on 3/10 shots, although he played very good defenses), Ioannis Papapetrou emphatically affirmed it. The captain of the greens hit big baskets in the last half, and he was the one who with an indirect triple in 1’47 ” put Panathinaikos OPAP in the lead. He may have missed from a distance (0/6 triples), but his overall presence on the field was excellent. And not only by numbers (16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 errors), but fundamentally by his image in defense.
THE WEAK LINK
Yannis Tima didn’t really help his team, with the exception of a two-minute outburst in the second ten minutes. He hesitated, didn’t do what he had to do on defense and was repeatedly exposed by the Greens forwards. His firing with five fouls at 6’28 ” to go was the … culmination of a bad appearance.
THE STATISTICS THAT stood out
Panathinaikos OPAP was excellent in rebounds (42 against 34), renewed 19 attacks during the game, with Leonidas Kaselakis coming off the bench and in 8’48 ” of participation counting 5 offensive rebounds. It was this element that was decisive in the final, after Giorgos Vovoras’ players hit two important offensive rebounds and then Ioannis Papapetrou “cleaned” in the ethers at the back of the court.
THE RACE
Both teams came up with significant gaps at “1”, but the one that seemed to cover it best was Panathinaikos OPAP. And this is because Lefteris Bohoridis played an extremely mature game. The 27-year-old point guard shared the game from the pick and roll, brought calm to the game on the greens and was the one who was instrumental in helping the guests take the lead early. Khimki was seriously out of line early on, and if it weren’t for Devin Booker to come up with some solutions to offensive rebounds, it would have been … gone.
Despite the efforts of the high athlete, Panathinaikos OPAP found a way to reduce the damage and with Dino Mitoglou scoring he reached +13 (11-24) shortly before the end of the first period. At that moment, the reaction of the hosts came.
With Dairis Bertans leading the way and Yannis Timas making personal baskets, the hosts rebounded and brought the ups and downs. In fact, while Nemanja Nedovic was nervous in attack (he had 1/6 shots at halftime), they found a way to reduce the damage on the back of the court. To such an extent that they went ahead (36-35) in the two minutes of the break.
As soon as their psychology began to improve, Ioannis Papapetrou took a step forward and with his own basket he again gave the advantage to the clover, which went to the dressing room, with a small advantage (39-41).
The greens started better in the third ten minutes, saw Dino Mitoglou score two consecutive triples and were able to take their lead to +5 (46-51) in the 24th minute. From there, however, a childless basket followed. four minutes, to completely lose control of the rhythm. At the same time, the passive defense against Vyacheslav Zaicev did not work. Khimki’s shooting guard hit back-to-back baskets (mainly from mid-range) and stopped … the game, to take the hosts from -5 (46-51) to +5 (61-56).
The pace of the fourth period was frantic in some cases, with Vyacheslav Zaichev and Jordan Mickey hitting personal baskets. On the opposite bank, however, was Ioannis Papapetrou. The leader of the clover was the one who separated his team at a critical point, scored accumulated points and led Panathinaikos to +2 (73-75) with less than two minutes to go.
Beyond that, what George Vovoras’ players did was protect their basket. With great defenses and Ioannis Papapetrou dominating the rebounds, they found the opportunity to further increase their lead (73-78 to 36.1 ”) and be a hug with victory.
Dairis Bertans hit a great triple right after, spread the agony, but not the game. This is because the double pointer you tried on the exhale ended up on the iron. Panathinaikos OPAP won (76-78) at Mytishchi Arena and made an ideal base in the new season.
Referees: Jovcis – Hordov – Dragojevic.
The ten minutes: 17-24, 39-41, 62-59, 76-78.
ΧΙΜΚΙ (Cortinitis): Team 9 (1), Karachev 3 (0/5 shots, 3/3 shots), Zaichev 11 (4/4 two points, 1/2 three points, 5 assists), Monia 3 (1/4 three points), Voronov , Booker 15 (6/11 two points, 0/1 three points, 3/5 shots, 7 rebounds), Jerebko 9 (1 three points, 9 rebounds), Bertans 14 (1/7 three points), Mickey 12 (5 bounces).
PANATHINAIKOS OPAP (Vovoras): Papagiannis 6 (4 rebounds), Bohoridis 10 (1 three points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 errors), August 4 (5 rebounds), Papapetrou 16 (6/8 two points, 0/6 three points, 4/5 shots, 8 rebounds, 3 assists), Kaselakis (6 rebounds), Kalaitzakis 2, Foster 10, Nedovic 7 (2/5 two points, 1/5 three points, 0/2 shooting, 4 assists), Mitoglou 12 (3 / 5 three points, 9 rebounds), Bentley 11 (2 rebounds).
Group Stats – Khimki: 21/39 two points, 5/23 three points, 19/24 shots, 35 rebounds (23 + 12), 17 assists, 6 steals, 10 errors, 4 blocks.
Team Statistics – Panathinaikos OPAP: 23/45 two points, 5/23 three points, 17/23 shots, 42 rebounds (23 + 19), 14 assists, 5 steals, 13 errors, 1 block.
The next matches of the teams: Panathinaikos OPAP host Olympiakos in a week, while Khimki host Zalgiris.
Photo credits: Eurokinissi
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