The duo delivered as the Greens edged Real Madrid in Round 26
Jerian Grant, Kostas Sloukas give Panathinaikos the perfect birthday gift
Informes de partidos
3 Min lectura
Regular Season
Round 26 of 38
Regular Season
Panathinaikos AKTOR AthensPAO
8281
Real MadridRMB
Overview
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Storm clouds have hovered over Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in recent weeks. On the day of the club’s 118th anniversary, Jerian Grant and Kostas Sloukas pushed the Greens back into the sunshine.
Panathinaikos secured an 82-81 win over Real Madrid at Telekom Center Athens on Tuesday night, with Grant drilling the game-winner – a fadeaway jumper over Andres Feliz – with 2.3 seconds remaining.
For a moment, Grant appeared destined to be the villain after his foul on Mario Hezonja’s layup allowed the Real Madrid forward to put the visitors 80-81 ahead with 8.7 seconds left. Instead, Grant responded in the best way possible, sending the crowd into raptures.
“My focus was to make a play for my team,” Grant said afterward. “I felt like I let the team down with that bad foul, and with the miss at Maccabi. But my teammates still believed in me. They wanted me to have the ball, and I made the shot.”
Grant finished with 19 points, nine of them coming in the fourth quarter. Seven of those arrived midway through the period as Panathinaikos opened up a 72-67 lead.
But Real Madrid responded. Alex Len scored six straight points to tie the game at 73–73, then threw down a dunk over Kenneth Faried – one of two Panathinaikos bigs, along with Richaun Holmes, to foul out – as he put the visitors 75-78 up with 30 seconds remaining. The tension inside the arena was palpable.
Once again, Sloukas steadied things.
Real Madrid led 44–36 at halftime, a margin that reflected Panathinaikos’s growing frustration. A loss at Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv, a narrow escape at LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and a Greek League defeat to Aris Thessaloniki had created a brittle atmosphere around the club.
Sloukas, though, was composed throughout. After scoring 12 points in the first half, he added eight more in the third quarter to help Panathinaikos close within one after 30 minutes, 60-61.
He scored just two points in the fourth, but they were pivotal – a driving layup with 22 seconds left that cut the deficit to one, 77-78. Moments later, Sloukas and Cedi Osman forced a turnover from Alberto Abalde, leading to Juancho Hernangomez’s go-ahead three (80–78).
Hezonja briefly appeared to spoil the night, but Grant had the final word, joining Sloukas as the night’s defining figure.
“It was an amazing game between two great teams, two historic teams, with so many personalities on the court,” Sloukas said. “Both teams fought like hell because the win was very important. We didn’t start well, but after that we hustled a lot and put our bodies on the line. If we had been a little smarter, maybe we could have won more comfortably. But Jerian scored an amazing basket, and we took a very important victory.
“We’re really tired because the schedule is crazy, but this is the EuroLeague. We have to continue and prepare ourselves for Partizan.”
Whether it was birthday magic or sheer resolve, the final buzzer brought everyone together – players, coaches and fans alike. Panathinaikos has been tested in recent weeks, but this felt like a turning point.
Despite the noise surrounding the club, the Greens now sit at 16-10, level with Real Madrid, and have climbed back into the top six.
“It’s amazing,” head coach Ergin Ataman said. “For the players, for the group – we played great defense and everyone tried to give everything. Maybe we could have won more easily, but at the end we were tired and made some crucial turnovers. Still, we deserved to win this game, especially because of the hustle we showed after the first quarter.
“Congratulations to the players for the character they showed in this situation. It’s a very important win. We’re level with Real Madrid and we’ve beaten them twice. Our goal is to continue for the top six, maybe the top four. We’ll see.”
Panathinaikos will look to carry that momentum into Serbia, where it faces Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in the second half of the EuroLeague double-round week, before a mouthwatering showdown with league-leading Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul next week in a rematch of last season’s semifinals.
Real Madrid, currently fourth in the standings, remains on the road as it travels to face Dubai Basketball to close out the double-round week.
