Euroleague Basketball: Panathinaikos Does Not Give Discounts, Virtus Bologna Knocked Out in Athens
Bologna, 3 January 2025 – The grit and character of the Virtus Segafredo Bologna are not enough at the Oaka Arena to get the better of the defending champions ofEuroleague which answer to the name of PanathinaikosIn Athens, Ivanovic's troops surrender 111 - 90. A harsh result that saw the Bolognese, without Shengelia and Zizic, fight for just over thirty-five minutes led by the best Will Clyburn of the season (25 with 5 assists). Those who thought it would be a predictable match from the tip-off were immediately proven wrong. The former CSKA Moscow winger was the driving force of the Black Shirts, scoring five points (5-7 in the 4th minute). The home team responded with yurtseven and extend with the first triple of the evening Kendrick Nunn (top scorer with 27 finals together with the aforementioned Turkish center) after a few moments of play (16-10). The guests remain in contact thanks to the hot hand from long distance by Clyburn (he will place five in the first half) that rebalances the match. Athens relies on two of its many talents present in the roster namely Grant and Hernangomez returning to the eight lengths distance. Virtus suffers but does not give up an inch of its grip going to narrow the gap with first Diouf and then with captain Belinelli who sanctions the tie with the house specialty namely the bomb of 36-36 at 15'. In the last four minutes of the first half Panathinaikos puts its foot down on the accelerator escaping to 54-42 thanks to an almost surgical Yurtseven (18 with 9/10 two-pointers). After returning from the locker rooms, Bologna tries to recover the ground lost by their opponents who in turn are able to keep control of the game: the third triple out of three attempts by Hernangomez is worth +16 for the Greeks. In the final period, Belinelli and Morgan lead the charge for the black and whites who come back under double digits of disadvantage. The challenge heats up with Grazulis who scores the -6 (81-75 at 34') to which Nunn responds with three pearls from 6.75 meters combined with the plays of Osman and Yurtseven that bring the Greeks closer to the final finish line. The decisive stamp will be put by Lorenzo Brown who will seal the twelfth victory in the event for the black and whites of Athens in the nineteenth appointment of the regular season.
In group A of Eurocup Trento caresses the dream of beating the league leaders Istanbul, which wins 69-73 on Italian soil and obtains the second victory in as many seasonal matches against the team coached by Galbiati which takes a negative result moving away from the playoff zone. With Eigirdas Zukauskas still unavailable (also absent against Tortona due to a back problem), the start is tonally dominated by the Turks who will record an eloquent 4-20 with Ponitka before a 10-0 counter partial of the Dolomiti closed by Lamb. L'Aquila is forced to chase and will be rewarded with the overtaking signed by Jordan Ford in the 27th minute (48-45). The home team exalts with Myles Cale finding seven points of difference that will not be well managed by the home team. Less than three minutes from the final siren Jaleen Smith puts the arrow of the overtaking (69-70) with Hazer who will close the games from the charity line.
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