Real Madrid arrives late and falls short against Panathinaikos

Euroleague

day 33That's how it was

Panathinaikos

87 86

Finalized

Real Madrid

Real Madrid arrived late and fell short at the OAKA.

The whites paid for their lack of concentration at the start and found no redemption at the end.

Already classified for the quarterfinals of the Euroleague and with home court factor assured, they played in Athens against Panathinaikos to certify second place in the classification, to ensure a more

.

But Laso's team failed again, giving up their sixth consecutive defeat away from home in Europe (the 13th in total in their last 24 games) and the only thing they signed were their doubts.

In the absence of a game to play, against Bayern in a week at the Palacio, the madridistas, who continue to depend on themselves, will play for their privileged position against Armani Milan and Olympiacos (now in a triple tie, but with the

for the whites), with the aim of avoiding the champion, Micic and Larkin's Efes, who, if they do not fail against Alba, Bayern and Red Star, will be fifth and will face fourth in the table.

Slow in their reflexes, the Whites conceded a 22-9 run in the first nine minutes and then stayed halfway, with several

comeback attempts .

After seeing themselves down 12 in the third quarter, they came within two in the 29th minute (56-54).

And, after redoing

, they turned a 76-63 into the final 87-86.

A troubled journey from 11 points in the first quarter to 32 in the last.

Without time or space for heroic solutions, or to escape another defeat on the wire.

Nedovic, Evans, Papapetrou and, above all, Papagiannis (18 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks) were a wall for Madrid, supported by Tavares and Heurtel to the shore, but again without consolation for their dilemmas.

In the home finale of the EuroLeague season for @paobcgr, the greens put on a show beating @RMBaloncesto 87-86

Highlights... pic.twitter.com/An1lpfQcGg

— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) March 31, 2022

In an unknown OAKA, with dry stands and intemperate atmosphere, Panathinaikos organized an unexpected party after a course of depression.

Madrid started out of tune and distracted and were flattened by Nedovic's points and Papagiannis' intimidation.

Laso's team closed the first quarter with a poor 4 of 12 shooting from two.

Papagiannis put as many baskets as blocks in his first eight minutes on the court.

As many as assists were distributed by the madridistas throughout the first half.

Too many hindrances to face a slope with a notable percentage of unevenness in Athens (22-9, m. 9).

The return of Causeur, whom Laso was waiting for like rain in May to grease a jammed perimeter, did not have the desired effect and it was Porier and Heurtel who, with great difficulty, tried to activate the creaking machinery.

Until Tavares joined the cause to balance the pulse in the heights with Papagiannis.

Exactly two meters and 20 centimeters from the parquet.

By dint of striking, the Cape Verdean was eroding the dominance of the Greek

, and, based on defending, the Whites emotionally got into the game.

But, in the middle of a recovery run, Madrid stumbled again.

From 31-25 to 36-25, with 9 of 26 shooting from two and 1 of 5 in triples for the visitors at that point.

Despite such statistics and the fact that Taylor did not finish stopping Nedovic, Madrid won the second quarter (19-21) and consolidated their dominance in rebounding (13-24), but barely advanced in their role as pursuer.

The hopeless Panathinaikos, penultimate in the standings without Russian teams, launched into a tribute at the expense of Madrid's doubts (41-32, m. 20).

A matter of streaks, Laso's team was looking to break the five away defeats in the current Euroleague (Fenerbahçe, Zalgiris, Estrella Roja, Efes and Maccabi) and maintain the tremendous sequence of 13 consecutive wins against Panathinaikos since 2018 (including five wins in the OAKA after that

towards the conquest of the Tenth).

They got a cross.

“We have to improve in everything”, Laso summed up in the intermission.

By the time he got through to his message, it was already dark in Athens.

Before Deck was activated, Yabusele and company Papagiannis and Evans underpinned the Greek optimism (48-36 first, and 51-39 in the 23rd minute).

Madrid could not find the game's instruction book, but Taylor's underdog work, Thompkins' first points, Tavares' perseverance, and the episodic three-pointers by Rudy and Llull opened a light in the labyrinth and allowed Laso's team build a strong partial of 5-15 that put them in orbit (56-54, m. 29).

Only a three-pointer from Papapetrou dampened the Madrid outburst just before entering the finish line.

But it was a hammer blow to the fragile morale of the visitors.

Enough to stretch the confidence of the Greek cadre.

Nine points from Daryl Macon in just five minutes put Madrid back in the starting blocks in no time (76-63).

Again doomed to the heroic after caressing the comeback.

And the heroic consisted of four consecutive triples, by Llull, Heurtel, Deck and, again, Heurtel.

Another outburst to test the comeback with two minutes to go (80-75).

The 32 points in the last quarter were insufficient.

It was already too late.

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