Barça is co-leader of the Euroleague with a suffered victory against Panathinaikos

Lead by Dwayne Bacon (19 points) and the inner presence of Georgios Papagiannis (13 points and 9 rebounds), the Greek team missed two shots in the fourth quarter to take the lead.

Despite the concessions in the rebound, Barça reduced a team that averages 81 to 68 points, shows his good defensive work in most of the game. The most outstanding were the Czechs Tomas Satoransky (13 points) and Jan Vesely (15).

Despite the last minute drop in Sertac Sanli due to gastroenteritis, which joined the already known illnesses of the injured Sergi Martínez and Álex Abrines, Barça started very well in the outside shot (8 of 10), with two triples from Nico Laprovittola and many others from Nikola Mirotic (14-4 , min.4).

Even the rowdy Greek fans were left speechless. The time out for coach Dejan Radonjic was of little use, because Barça was a steamroller. Voracious in defense, he annulled the Hellenic team. And in the opposite ring, Mirotic’s triples, Oscar da Silva, Nikola Kalinic y Laprovittola they fueled the escape (28-12, min.10).

Panathinaikos reacted by raising the defensive bar and the Catalan team replied with the same coin, which led to a phase of constant fouls and interruptions. Not so fluid in the gamebut just as disciplined, the Catalan team protected the income in double digits at halftime (43-30).

The Hellenic team came back more aggressive, punishing the lukewarmness of Barça in the paint (47-39, min.23). ‘Saras’ stopped the match and Jan Vesely, with a 2+1 and a block, changed the trend. Mirotic’s fourth triple and a dunk from Satoransky confirmed it (55-41, min.26).

Bacon, the beginning and end of Panathinaikos in attack, charged Barça with personnel and scored from the personal line, but the Barça team replied with five points from Kalinic to enter the last quarter eleven points up (62-51).

The Greek team did not stop insisting, fueled by the talent of Bacon and the mine that Georgios Papagiannis found in the offensive rebound. Doubts entered Barçaaccelerated and chained errors that fattened the visiting locker on the counterattack (69-68, min.37).

Panathinaikos forgave two shots to complete the comeback, and, at the crucial moment, Satoransky rescued Barça with a three-pointer, which was followed by another basket from Vesely to make it 74-68. the Catalan team tied up with a great defense in the final possessions.