Depleted Greens go down in Istanbul

By George Georgakopoulos

Former Panathinaikos coach Zeljko Obradovic’s Fenerbahce avenged its 18-point loss in Athens a few weeks ago by beating Panathinaikos 84-62 in Turkey on Thursday and harming the Greens' chances for a top-two finish in their pool.

The Greek champion had a depleted roster in Istanbul due to the injuries to centers Esteban Batista and Loukas Mavrokefalidis, and during the game it also saw captain Dimitris Diamantidis limp off with a twisted ankle after playing for just over five minutes.

Still, with AJ Slaughter having another great evening, scoring 20 points in total, Panathinaikos stayed within contention in the first half that ended 36-32 in the host's favor.

It was a disastrous third period (with a partial score of 31-16) that allowed Fenerbahce to break away and seal victory with such a margin that has secured it a better head-to-head record with the Greens should the two sides end up level on points.

Panathinaikos coach Dusko Ivanovic said after the game that there was a problem of mentality with some of the players in the team.

On Wednesday PAOK lost 68-54 at home to Lokomotiv Kuban for the Eurocup.