Panathinaikos cruises past Kolossos in Rhodes

TJ Shorts had another strong performance for the Greens

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens secured a dominant 90-67 road win over Kolossos H Hotels in Rhodes on Sunday behind 18 points and 5 assists from TJ Shorts. Omer Yurtseven posted 13 points and 9 rebounds, and Nikos Rogkavopoulos and Konstantinos Mitoglou added 12 points apiece as Panathinaikos improved to 2-1. Starting center Richaun Holmes played only a minute and a half before leaving with an apparent injury. Gabriel Galvanini led Kolossos with 13 points.

Panathinaikos built momentum through key baskets from Kendrick Nunn and Shorts, with the latter helping extend the lead to 5–10. Marius Grigonis and Mitoglou added to the tally, while Yurtseven and Rogkavopoulos pushed the margin to double digits. Rogkavopoulos capped the quarter with a buzzer-beating triple, giving Panathinaikos a 15–28 lead after 10 minutes. Ergin Ataman’s squad continued to pull away in the second quarter and led 36–49 at halftime.

Panathinaikos kept the pressure on in the third quarter, starting with a dunk from Mitoglou and a three-pointer from Yurtseven. Mitoglou and Jerian Grant extended the lead. Kolossos fought back to remain within 12 through three quarters. The fourth quarter saw Panathinaikos seal the win with strong play from Mitoglou, Yurtseven, and Shorts. A highlight dunk from Giannis Kouzeloglou off a Shorts assist pushed the lead to 16, and Shorts’ first three-pointer of the night made it 59-80 en route to a convincing victory.