CSKA Moscow beat reigning Euroleague Champions Panathinaikos 78-76 in an overtime thriller - Part 2
Panathinaikos drew the first blood courtesy of a Steven Smith downtown strike in the opening minute, however it was answered almost immediately by last year’s MVP Ramunas Siskauskas three-pointer from the left corner. Panathinaikos
managed to stay ahead of their opponents in the first half of the quarter however an 8 point run got CSKA in front at 11-7 after 6 minutes.
A driving layup from Nenad in the 7th minute extended CSKA’s lead to 5 points 16-11, but Panathinaikos did not allow CSKA to build the lead any further and coming back strongly; they not only levelled the scores but
got ahead 17-16 in the 8th minute.
Both teams were neck to neck at 19 all before Kostas drilled a three to ensure that Panathinaikos entered the second quarter with a three point lead 22-19.
Two layups and a three in the start of second quarter by CSKA helped the team in regaining the lead, however it was only short lived as Panathinaikos, first with the help of two free throws levelled the score and then got ahead
29-26 when Nick Calathes managed to find basket from three-point range.
Completing a 10 point run, in next three minutes, Panathinaikos managed to acquire a healthy lead of 10 points 36-26. CSKA pulled back things and slashed the lead to 6 before Sato Romain scalped another three in the dying seconds
to ensure Panathinaikos entered the second half of the game with a lead of 9 points 41-32.
CSKA displayed solid defense and offense in the third quarter. They scored 22 points and held the opponents to only 16 points however the first half lead of 9 points never allowed them to get ahead of Panathinaikos. A three-pointer
in the 9th minute by Andrei Kirilenko got them close but a jumper in the last minute by Sarunas again took Panathinaikos ahead by 3 points 57-54.
The fourth quarter, as expected, turned out to be a cracker. The first minute of last quarter was intense with both teams trying to dominate on the offense but it was Panathinaikos who managed to score more freely and in doing
so, got ahead by 6 points, 62-56. A jumper by Sarunas in the fourth minute got Panathinaikos 9 points ahead (67-58) and it looked like they will go on to win the game easily.
However from there on CSKA scored in quick successions and with the help of two free throws and a three pointer in the 9th minute, they managed to level the scores at 71 all. This was how it stayed at the end of regulation
time and the game entered into the extra period.
Three minutes into the extra time and there was still no winner as scores were again levelled at 75. This was when Ramunas knocked down a three right down the heart of the Greeks and won the game for CSKA.
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