The quarterfinals of the Euroleague began with a surprise on the first day, a round of matches in which the first two finishers from the regular phase defended the court, receiving those who had passed the new play in in their pavilions. Real Madrid had no problems, to begin with, against Baskonia. But Panathinaikos, who finished second, lost the home-court advantage against Maccabi at the first opportunity: 87-91 in a match in which Ataman’s men were unable to maintain their advantage after a very good first half.
In the last minute, and with the game tied, Lorenzo Brown scored a basket that ended up being decisive. Kostas Sloukas then made a mess and spoiled the possession that PAO had to tie or take the lead. Josh Nebo sentenced from the personnel line. Lorenzo, a Spanish international who was key in the Eurobasket, was not in the last World Cup and is now aiming for the Pre-Olympic and the Paris Games (if Spain gets a ticket in the Valencia tournament), he played a great game: 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. He formed, once again, an excellent interior pairing with Wade Baldwin, who scored 15 points.
And, after the game and in statements reported by Basketnews, the point guard remembered his teammate on the Spanish National Team, Juancho Hernangómez, who had little prominence in Panathinaikos: “I think he deserves many more minutes, and at some point someone will leave. will realize. But hey, it’s just my opinion and I’m not the coach.”
Juancho played 20 minutes and finished with 3 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. His season has not been easy in Athens. In Europe, his average on the court has not reached 17 minutes (4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds), much less prominence than he expected when he decided to return from the NBA and sign with the Greek team, where Ergin Ataman, as usual his style, he has on some occasions been harsh with him in public. The coach, this time, was however more concerned with squeezing out his particular motivation methods. After the loss, he said that he was so sure they would end up playing in the Final Four that he would leave the PAO this summer if they didn’t make it. To get closer to that goal, they cannot fail in the second game tomorrow (7:00 p.m.).
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2024-04-24 15:19:05
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