Two storied names in EuroLeague basketball meet up on Friday at OAKA Altion for just their fourth game this century.
Panathinaikos, Virtus ready to keep going
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3 Min lectura
Almost at the end of a busy double-round week, Panathinaikos Athens (4-4) hosts Virtus Segafredo Bologna (6-2) as both teams look for a second victory in barely three days.
This game has plenty of interesting angles and storylines. Perhaps the most appealing one is seeing Virtus center Bryant Dunston go against Panathinaikos head coach Ergin Ataman. Dunston and Coach Ataman worked together for five years, from 2018 to 2023, helping Anadolu Efes Istanbul win back-to-back Turkish Airlines EuroLeague titles in 2021 and 2022. As such, they know everything about each other.
Dunston, a two-time EuroLeague Best Defender, has the tough mission to guard Mathias Lessort, who was chosen to the 2022-23 All-EuroLeague First Team. Jordan Mickey is sidelined, so Dunston is set to see most playing time against Lessort.
Two-decade wait following an epic final
Going back further, this is also a rematch of the 2002 EuroLeague Championship Game, a truly historical one. Panathinaikos rallied from 14 points down to shock Virtus 83-89 and win the 2002 EuroLeague title as the only champion this century to lift the trophy on the losing team's home floor. Ibrahim Kutluay led Panathinaikos with 22 points. Current Euroleague Basketball president Dejan Bodiroga added 21 and was voted the Final Four MVP. Manu Ginobili led Virtus with 27 points.
That was not only the most significant game between them this century -- until last season, it was the only one! All told, Panathinaikos and Virtus had to wait 7,508 days to see each other again in the EuroLeague. When they did so last season, each won at home. Panathinaikos triumphed 88-85 in Athens and Virtus took their rematch in Bologna 74-64.
A power forward face-off
Going into Friday's game, both teams feature power forwards who have stepped up when a teammate got injured.
Toko Shengelia, the EuroLeague MVP for October, has led his team since fellow power forward Achille Polonara was sidelined due to a testicular tumor. Shengelia is averaging 17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists, ranking first in PIR (22.8) among all EuroLeague players.
Dinos Mitoglou has filled the same protagonist's role for Panathinaikos since Juancho Hernangomez has been sidelined due to injury over the last two games. Since then, Mitoglou has pushed Panathinaikos in consecutive victories against ALBA Berlin and Zalgiris Kaunas by averaging 21.5 points on 75.0% two-point and 66.7% three-point shooting along with 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and a PIR of 26.5.
Point guards with pedigree
The point guard battle should be equally critical, as two former EuroLeague champions go against each other. Daniel Hackett, who lifted the trophy with CSKA Moscow in 2019, is set to go against Kostas Sloukas, a three-time EuroLeague champion with Olympiacos Piraeus and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. Sloukas faces a tough challenge against two elite on-the-ball defender like Hackett and Alessandro Pajola, and his ability to run the Greens' offense should be one of the biggest keys to this game.
The game has all it takes to wrap up a busy EuroLeague week in style: tradition, close relationships and a head-to-head battle between two of the league's hottest players.