The Londoners leaned on defense and controlled the game from start to finish
Lions light up Panionios for dominant home win
Rungtynių ataskaitos
3 Minutė skaityti
Regular Season
Round 7 of 18
Regular Season
group b
London LionsLDN
9772
Panionios Cosmorama Travel AthensPAN
group b
Overview
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The London Lions bounced back in style on Wednesday night, delivering a commanding 97-72 victory over Panionios Cosmorama Travel Athens to improve to 3-4 in the BKT EuroCup. After a heartbreaking 1-point loss to ratiopharm ulm last week, the Lions left no doubt this time, controlling the game from start to finish.
Joel Scott led the charge with 18 points and 6 rebounds, while Amin Adamu and Kameron McGusty added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Though London’s offense looked unstoppable, head coach Tautvydas Sabonis credited the win to his team’s defensive effort.
"Defense, defense, defense," Sabonis said. "72 points, but it could have been a little bit lower, we relaxed a little. We definitely came to play. If we want to go far, we have to play hard and it’s 40 minutes, look after every possession."
Scott echoed his coach’s emphasis on identity and effort.
"It’s our identity," Scott affirmed. "It’s something we work on and talk about every day, which really showed today. Everyone was really locked into the game plan and we got the outcome we wanted. We want to build on it and keep working hard."
For Panionios, the night was one to forget. The Greek side fell to 1-6 and remains at the bottom of its group after what head coach Ilias Zouros called a “very bad performance.”
"It’s a shame," Zouros said at halftime, with his team trailing by 20. "It’s a BIG shame for the team of Panionios, the way that we play is ridiculous. It’s a SHAME! Defensively, one-on-one, we don’t exist."
His assessment didn’t change after the final buzzer.
"Physically, mentally, we were not in the game. I mean, we were REALLY out of the game. I find it hard to say anything. It was a very bad performance. Unfortunately, we are going in the wrong direction. We’d like to apologize to our teams, just one more time."
Despite the setback, Zouros expressed faith in his players and vowed to find solutions.
"Still, I believe in my group, I believe in my players, even when we are going down. Basketball is a game of ups and downs. The important thing is to find the reason why we played like that, get better and have a better picture in the future."
