Panathinaikos smashed AEK, proving they are the best team in Athens
In the debut of the Greek league, Euroleague powerhouse PAO didn’t give any chance to their Athens’ neighbours, AEK. They dominated from the beginning of the game and never look back, winning all the quarters of the encounter.
Panathinaikos had a great game, all the players contributing to the victory. The stats leaders for Panathinaikos were Deshaun Thomas with 26 points, Georgios Papagiannis (8 rebounds) and Nick Calathes who dished 9 assists. On the other side, Kendrick Ray scored 18 points for AEK and Dimitris Kaklamanakis was close to a double-double, having 11 points and 9 rebounds. With the exception of Keith Langford, who finished with 11 points, the other foreigner stars of AEK were almost absent in the game. Jonas Maciulis had 2 points, Howard Sant-Ross – 4 and Stefan Jankovic was scoreless.
The final score 89-68 reflects the real difference between the 2 Greek teams and indicates that Panathinaikos will have a good season in Euroleague, while AEK Athens is not at their best. In Greece, without Olympiacos relegated to the second league, theoretically, it will be easier for both teams, but Promitheas Patras and Peristeri are coming strong this year, with a lot of ambitions in front of the new season.
This game lost confirms that in BasketballCL, AEK won’t make a big noise with this roster. Maybe they will advance to the playoffs of the European competition, but then it will be hard and I think AEK has no chance to win Basketball Champions League this season.
Gratian Cormos
