The new addition played a major role in the Greens handing Bayern its first home loss
Wenyen Gabriel made major difference in first game after Mathias Lessort injury
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Regular Season
Round 18 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens head coach Ergin Ataman really didn’t know what he would get from Wenyen Gabriel, who was signed on Monday after the gruesome injury to Mathias Lessort. The new addition ended up being a major difference-maker in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champs handing FC Bayern Munich its first home loss of the season.
Gabriel collected 6 points, 8 rebounds and 6 blocks in Panathinaikos’s 69-80 victory over Bayern to snap a three-game road losing streak.
“We knew somebody would win here – it’s impossible to stay unbeaten. We are the firsts because we have the experience and power for that,” said Ataman, who saw his star big man Lessort go down with a fractured fibula in Round 17 on December 19.
Kendrick Nunn poured in 27 points and was the offensive key once again for the Greens, as he has been over the last few games.
“They’re a hell of a team. They were on a good run. It was a perfect game for us. It was a good challenge for us – on the road and missing our big,” noted Nunn. “It was extra motivation for the Greens. Every night we are playing for Mathias the rest of the season, for sure.”
He also praised Gabriel, who joined the team on December 23 after the Lessort injury: “Wenyen stepped up big tonight.”
Kostas Sloukas also talked about how the team dedicated the win to Lessort and how all of the games will be for him. And he addressed Gabriel’s debut.
“We miss him, but today Gabriel did a great job. I can’t say he replaced him, but he gave us some fighting spirit and that was important for us,” said the four-time EuroLeague champion.
Ataman himself was surprised what he got out of Gabriel, who did play nine EuroLeague games this season with Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.
“Before the game I was telling the assistants maybe he would only play 4 or 5 minutes because he doesn’t know the plays,” admitted Ataman. “But basketball is like this. It’s simple. Sometimes you don’t need to play your plays that you work on all week. We played simple pick and roll. And when I saw that he was giving us a great contribution defensively, I kept him on the court. We just played simple pick and roll for Kendrick and Sloukas. And he managed to stay on the court.”
Those 4 or 5 minutes turned into 29:45 minutes for Gabriel, who threw down three dunks for his 6 points and helped with 3 of his 8 rebounds coming from the offensive glass, besides his tremendous rim protection.
Wenyen Gabriel, of course, cannot replace Mathias Lessort, but the South Sudanese big man showed in his debut that he can definitely help the defending EuroLeague champion.