PAOK shocks Panathinaikos to win by 17 points

By George Georgakopoulos

PAOK forced Panathinaikos’s second consecutive defeat in the Basket League on Sunday as it triumphed over the Greek champion with a 71-54 score in Thessaloniki.

In a game postponed from mid-November, PAOK was superior for virtually the entire encounter at the PAOK Sports Hall, although the Greens fought back in the second period to end the first half two points ahead (32-30).

The very tight defense of PAOK – that contained Panathinaikos to just 54 points in 40 minutes – as well as the poor shooting rate of the visitors in three-pointers and free throws allowed PAOK to edge ahead in the third period and built an unassailable lead in the last quarter. The partial score of the last period was 21-9 in the hosts’ favor.

PAOK had Marc Antonio Carter scoring 18 points and Vangelis Margaritis register a career record with 16, while James Gist notched up 18 for the Greens.

The result means that Olympiakos is alone on top of the table, one point ahead of Panathinaikos, with PAOK two points behind the Greens but also with a game in hand.

This was the only league game played this weekend, with the 12th round of games scheduled for January 10-12.