Panathinaikos maintains playoff push in the EuroLeague

Panathinaikos rallied past Bayern Munich at home (98-83) and maintained a playoff push in the EuroLeague.

The “Greens” made an excellent start and opened the game on a 19-2 run. The Bavarians, though, turned things around and took the lead in the third quarter (61-70).

Panathinaikos reacted and went on a 21-2 run to seal the deal. The Germans never recovered after that and were defeated.

Panathinaikos remained within the playoff zone after improving to 11-8. Bayern, on the other hand, lost its fifth straight and dropped to 6-13.

Panathinaikos can fight for the home-court advantage in the coming rounds. They have an easy schedule ahead of them, facing teams with worse records.

Three of the next five games will be played at home for Panathinaikos (Zalgiris Kaunas, ASVEL Villeurbanne, Zenit).

Panathinaikos will travel to Valencia and Belgrade in the meantime. Therefore, they can create a streak that will let them remain close to the top four.

It is worth noting, though, that Panathinaikos’ schedule will become a lot tougher in the final 10 rounds.

Consequently, it is imperative for the multiple time EuroLeague champions to keep winning in the next games.

Zenit Saint Petersburg forward Will Thomas was unstoppable and led his team to the 72-66 victory over Baskonia.

Thomas posted 19 points (7/8 shooting) and six rebounds, helping the Russians improve to 6-13.

“Getting defensive stops and rebounding the ball were the keys. We have been working hard all season.

We are working to be competitive in the EuroLeague and now it is starting to show,” Thomas told reporters afterwards.

At the same time, Baskonia dropped to 7-12.

Zalgiris edged Crvena Zvezda (70-76), snapping the Serbians’ three-game winning streak.

“Everything is important, you know. We just really need to pick up more. I don’t want to sound like I cannot be happy about the win. But, there are just too many gifts we are giving in all these situations.

We’ll take the win, we’ll keep going and we’ll keep on working,” Zalgiris head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius told reporters.

The Lithuanians are at 6-13, whereas Zvezda dropped to 9-10.