The Greens returned to Berlin and did what it did last May: win
Panathinaikos beats ALBA in Berlin, 77-87

In its first return to the German capital since winning the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title last May, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens collected its first win as reigning champion by downing ALBA Berlin 77-87 at Uber Arena in Round 1 on Thursday night.
Kendrick Nunn paced the winners with 16 points. Mathias Lessort added 14 and 8 rebounds, and Juancho Hernangomez had 11 points, while Kostas Sloukas and Jerian Grant scored 10 points apiece for Panathinaikos. Will McDowell-White netted 13 points in his EuroLeague debut with ALBA. Martin Hermannsson added 12, Trevion Williams had 11 while Khalifa Koumadje pulled down 13 rebounds for the hosts.
Game Videos
Lessort hit a five-minute jumper to get the first score of a new season. Nunn added a floater for a 0-4 Panathinaikos lead. Dinos Mitoglou bettered Louis Olinde's jump hook with a corner triple, then Lorenzo Brown swish a jumper for a 2-9 score. Jonas Mattisseck stepped up with a three-point play and Matteo Spagnolo added a backdoor layup to keep ALBA within 7-13. Lessort scored the next 6 points, including a power layup and a dunk to boost the Greens' margin to 7-19. Marius Grigonis struck from downtown and Grant scored in penetration, good for a 13-24 Panathinaikos lead. Spagnolo and McDowell-White brought ALBA within 17-26 after 10 minutes.
Omer Yurtseven scored around the basket early in the second quarter. Williams and McDowell-White each struck from beyond the arc to get ALBA closer, 23-30. Yurtseven and Yanni Wetzell exchanged dunks, then Hernangomez's triple restored a 25-35 Panathinaikos lead. McDowell-White scored again, Elias Rapieque added a driving layup and Justin Bean's three-pointer made the Greens call timeout at 32-37. Cedi Osman answered from downtown and Lessort dunked in traffic to keep the Greens out of trouble, 32-42. Nunn joined the three-point shootout but Khalifa Koumadje followed a jump hook with a tip-in to fix the halftime score at 36-45.
Lessort matched Hermannsson's first basket with a layup and soon added a dunk for a 38-49 Panathinaikos lead. Hermannson and Olinde stepped up for ALBA, then Koumadje's third-chance layup gave the hosts hope at 44-51. Hermannsson kept pacing ALBA and Koumadje ignited the crowd with an alley-oop slam that made it a four-point game, 47-51. Osman rescued Panathinaikos with a fast-break layup, which Nunn followed with a three-point play. A red-hot Hermannsson followed a floater with a three-pointer, then Spagnolo's circus shot got ALBA as close as 54-56, after a 7-0 run. Lorenzo Brown and Hernangomez helped Panathinaikos restore a 57-62 lead after 30 minutes.
Nunn buried back-to-back jumpers early in the fourth quarter, then Hernangomez dunked to restore a double-digit Panathinaikos lead, 57-68. Grant capped a 0-9 run with a three-pointer that McDowell-White matched at the other end. Williams and Mattisseck each joined the three-point shootout, then Justin Bean's coast-to-coast layup give ALBA fans plenty of hope, 68-73, with over 4 minutes left. Hernangomez sank his third three-pointer and Sloukas added his first one to make ALBA called a timeout at 68-79. Williams followed Koumadje's put-back slam with a three-pointer, then Olinde got the hosts within 75-79. Sloukas answered from beyond the arc to seal the outcome in the penultimate minute of the game.