U18 AX Armani Exchange Milan captured seventh place at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Varese by knocking off U18 Panathinaikos OPAP Athens 49-51.
Milan downs Panathinaikos for seventh place
Game Report
2 Mins read
Lionel Abega decided the game on a three-pointer with 58 seconds left as Milan collected its second victory of the event. Abega paced the winners with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Lamine Tandia added points and 9 boards. Panathinaikos, which did not win a game in Varese, was led by Emmanouil Dimou with 13 points and Neoklis Avdalas had 11 points and 5 rebounds in the defeat.
Davide Trovarelli knocked down a pair of three-pointers as Milan jumped ahead 2-12 in the first 3 minutes. Dimou and Ioannis Avdalas both hit triples for the Greens before Marco Restelli connected from deep at the other end. Georgios Xoxakos scored 7 points as Panathinaikos finished the first quarter on a 10-2 run to lead 18-17 after 10 minutes. Dimitrios Deimezis pushed the lead to 20-17 to start the second quarter. Milan answered with the next 5 points to move back ahead only to see Panathinaikos get a three-pointer from Ioannis Avdalas and lead 28-26 at the break.
Neoklis Avdalas knocked down a three-pointer for a 33-28 lead and a Dimou triple had the Greens ahead 38-32. Samuele Miccoli and Restelli both hit from long range and the game was even again 40-40 with the score 41-40 after 30 minutes. Panathinaikos scored the first 3 points of the fourth quarter and a Neoklis Avdalas triple extended the lead to 47-42. After Restelli’s three-pointer evened the game 47-47 with 81 seconds remaining, Neoklis Avdalas hit a runner in the lane with 68 seconds left only to have Abega knock down a triple and put Milan up 49-50 with 58 seconds to play. Panathinaikos failed to score on its next possession and Abega split free throws with 10 seconds left. Neoklis Avdalas missed a layup in the final second.