He Real Madrid beat Panathinaikos 76-66 on the twenty-second day of the Euroleague, in a match in which the Argentine Gabriel Deck (20 points) and the Spanish Carlos Alocen (13) shone to concede the victory to the Whites after two consecutive defeats in the highest continental competition.
The men trained by Pablo Laso added a crucial win to reach the goal of finishing in the top four after his last setbacks against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Red Star, which made him fall to fifth place in the table.
From the start, the white machinery worked, completing a great first room in which they finished with 13 points of advantage over the Greeks, from their defensive solidity, with a successful Jeffery Taylor (8 points without failure) and with a Deck in its best version.
In the second act, the locals consolidated their dominance on the track of the Wizink Center. He Laso’s defensive system worked perfectly to curb the aggressiveness of the Greeks, with a notable Alex Tylus in the containment of the inside game and with an excellent Fabien Caseur on the three-point line (3/3) that contributed to increase the income of the white team by 22 points.
After a last basket by Carlos Alocén in what was his best performance with the white jersey, the match went to rest with a comfortable 49-27 favorable to the local team, which got the win on track more easily than initially planned.
However, the whites came out in the second half deconcentrated, which allowed the Athenians to close the gap through Nemanja Nedovic and Auguste Zach, who began to appear in the match. Panthinaikos took advantage of the Whites’ doubt phase and came close to 9 points.
Pablo Laso was forced to stop the game to contain the reaction of the Greek team. The entry of Trey Thomkins and Deck gave Madrid more consistency on the track and the third quarter ended with a 23-15 balance in favor of the Athenians (64-50, min 30).
In the final quarter, Madrid’s offensive production fell. The Greeks found fissures in the white block through quick offensive transitions and an unstoppable Foster. But two triples by Abalde and Sergio Llull in the closing stages of the match certified the eleventh victory Real Madrid in the Euroleague.
Datasheet
76- Real Madrid (25 + 24 + 15 + 12)– Thompkins (-), Alocén (13), Deck (20), Taylor (10) and Tavares (4) -initial five-, Rudy (-), Abalde (4), Llull (7), Tyus (4), and Carroll (3), Causeur (11), Garuba (-).
66- Panathinaikos (12 + 15 + 23 + 16)– Mack (4), Auguste (13), Nedovic (18), White (5), Mitoglou (5) -cinco titular- Bochoridis (5), Kaselakis (3), Vougioukas (-), Kalaitzakis (-), Foster (11), Sant-Roos (-) y Bentil (2).
Referees: Ilija Belosevic (Serbia), Carmelo Paternico (Italy), Tomislav Hordov (Croatia). Auguste Zach eliminated for fouls
Incidents: Match corresponding to the twenty-second day of the Euroleague held at the Wizink Center without an audience.
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