Panathinaikos beat Maccabi Tel Aviv tonight (Thursday) in Ouaka with a score of 79:95 and balanced the Euroleague playoff quarterfinal series at 1:1.
Only 48 hours have passed since the yellows defeated Huaca and stole the home team from the Greeks with a dramatic away victory, but despite the short time, quite a few dramas and attempts to introduce political and national elements were made in the short time between the first game and the second. In an attempt to put pressure on the referees and warm up the local crowd, Argin Atman and the owners of Pau Dimitris Yanakopoulos acted in unusual ways in the last day, which also included a harsh club statement that accused the referees of helping Maccabi due to the situation in Israel.
John DiBartholomew, Bonzie Coulson, photo: Andreas Papakonstantinou / Tourette Photography
The main story on the eve of the match on the yellow side dealt with the condition of the team’s star Wade Baldwin, who was injured in the first game between the teams. Although he stated after the first game of the series that he planned to play in the second game despite the injury that prevented him from finishing the fourth quarter, after an MRI it became clear that he suffered from a slight tear in the hamstring muscle and missed the match, which dramatically changed the balance of power. Oded Ketch’s apprentices showed character and took the lead in the first quarter thanks to Jake Cohen’s season high, but in the absence of the star, the obstacle tonight in Ouaka was too great.
Jake Cohen, photo: Andreas Papakonstantinou / Tourette Photography
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The Greeks, who came to the game for the future of the season for them, from which there is no way back, got over the initial shock and exploded on the yellows in a one-sided second quarter of 11:31 led by Kostas Sloukas, who was the tragic hero of the first game and now responded to his team in a big way. As it proved throughout the season, this time too the yellows showed character and managed to reduce the difference to only three points, but Slokas (29 points) was there once again to prevent the turnaround with an extraordinary display.
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