Euroleague starts with victories for the Greeks
The biggest ever Euroleague has just started, featuring 20 teams, and the two Greek representatives asserted their authority from Day 1 as they opened their campaign with victories on Tuesday.
Panathinaikos defeated visiting Bayern Munich 87-79 with relative ease, although the Athens team is far from ready as its coach Ergin Ataman has also admitted.
The Greens led throughout the game with varying margins, as they finished the first half up by six (47-41) and went further ahead especially in the final quarter of the game (79-67).
Their defense left a lot to be desired in the first half, though at this starting of the season it is only the victory that matters from such games.
Kendrick Nunn was once again the main man for the hosts, chalking up 21 points on the night, newcomer Nikos Rogavopoulos added 15, while Turkish center Omer Yurtseven had a crucial role with 14 points.
Olympiakos played a high-scoring game in Spain and won 102-96 against an ambitious Baskonia.
It led 12-0 and 19-4 at the start, but the Basques bounced back, took a small lead and pushed the Reds all the way – only the Greeks had the final say in the last quarter.
Nikola Milutinov had a double double to show (14 rebounds, 12 points) for his quality performance at the Fernando Buesa Arena, but Sasha Vezenkov bettered him with 24 points and 13 rebounds and Tyler Dorsey made 21.
