Kostas Mitogou registered a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, Kostas Sloukas had an all-around performance and Panathinaikos downed Olympiacos 54-66 with a strong second half in a low scoring affair.
Mitoglou also had four blocks, while Sloukas finished with five points, five assists and five rebounds in his first game in front of the fans of his former team to help his team especially in the second half. The two teams scored just 23 combined points in the first quarter.
The two teams started slow and the score remained low (9-9 at 7′) while Sloukas made his first appearance with 2:52 left in the quarter that closed at 12-11. At the beginning of the second quarter, the teams remained nervous and did not score easily before Olympiacos made a small run to take a 26-18 lead with 4 minutes left before the end of the first half.
Panathinaikos remained composed and took a small breath of air via Sloukas and Mitoglou who helped the “Greens” remain close as the half closed with Olympiacos ahead 31-28. Things did not change at the start of the second half, with both teams playing nervously in the offensive side.
With Mitoglou standing out, Panathinaikos was able to take control of the contest and earned a 40-45 lead with less than 2 minutes remaining on the clock before the end of the third quarter. Olympiacos answered back with Nigel Williams-Goss and Isaiah Canaan pushing the “Reds” and cutting the lead to 50-52.
However, Mitoglou was once again the catalyst for the visitors as the Greek big man went on to push the lead back to six (52-58) after an Alec Peters missed three. From that point and with 3 minutes for the end of the regulation, Panathinaikos kept the advantage and earned a huge victory.
