Georgios Papagiannis: 'The season didn't go as planned, but fans still love the team' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens improved to 8-18 after their first win overReal Madrid after 1.445 days, 13 defeats, and two EuroLeague playoff eliminations.

Player of the Game EFF 30 Georgios Papagiannis Points 18 Accuracy 9-11 Rebounds 10 Assists 1

The Greens dominated the contest for the most part (excluding the last four minutes) and got a significant psychological boost ahead of their upcoming Greek League ventures.

The game against ALBA in Berlin may lie ahead, but everyone's attention has been turned to the face-off with Olympiacos on Monday, April 11.

As far as the Real Madrid game, one could say that the final score (87-86) hardly does justice to the Greek team, which had the upper hand from the beginning to the end of the match. Real Madrid stayed close thanks to consecutive 3-pointers in the last quarter, especially after the hosts acquired a 13-point lead (76-63) with five minutes remaining.

Over those four years, PAO had lost to Los Blancos in any possible and impossible way - from going scoreless in the last four minutes while being up by seven, as it happened in the first playoff game in 2019, to watching Rudy Fernandez throwing the ball at the buzzer almost from half-court that same season, and Alberto Abalde making a career-best game in a double-overtime clash in 2021.

Following a bad game, mostly on defense, against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Georgios Papagiannis bounced back for good. The Greek center was unstoppable on both ends, finishing the game with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 30 PIR points, his all-time second best.

Credit Vangelis Stolis

Papagiannis registered all of his blocks in the first half, stopping Guerschon Yabusele twice and Nigel Williams-Goss, Vincent Poirier, and -yes- Walter Tavares.

"Today, with the last home game of the season, I wanted to give my best from the beginning until the final buzzer sounded. I'm really happy that we beat Madrid here because we have lost many games to them.

Georgios Papagiannis

MIN:27.05PTS:9.93 (66.09%)REB:7.79As:0.71ST:0.61BL:1.54TO:1.25GM:28ProfileEuroLeague2021/2022

I got motivation every game, but especially tonight against Edy [Tavares]. I think it was a great matchup for both of us," the 24-year-old said in the flash interview before going into more detail, talking to Greek broadcaster NOVASPORTS.

"I've known Edy for years. We've played against each other in the G-League, and we've been around for quite some time. He's been playing very well this season and him being on the list for the MVP award is no coincidence," Papagiannis went on to say.

"He's a very good player. Both of us had a very good game. We both made use of our experience on the court."

The tough part for the Greek big man came when he was asked about his team's ups and downs during the season. Panathinaikos went from being blown out by a motivated Maccabi team to downing second-placed Real Madrid, who nevertheless have dropped seven of their last nine games.

"At home, we've had some very good games, including some narrow losses. This EuroLeague season certainly didn't go as we would have liked. But fans love the team all the same," he commented.

Papagiannis is arguably having his career-best season and could be up for the Defender of the Year award.

"Year after year, my goal is to improve and show it on the court," he said.

"My goal is to be the best I can be every time. I've been on the team for several years, I know how it works, for better or worse. Hopefully, the advice I provide helps my younger teammates. I want to improve my post game," he concluded.

However, Papagiannis was not alone this time around. Team captain Ioannis Papapetrou scored somecriticalpoints, logging 14 overall. In his only second EuroLeague game after a two-month absence following sinusitis surgery, the 27-year-old didn't look like a player who had been sidelined for so long.

"I am pleased. After 48 hours, we had another game. I'm trying to find myself again. It was a good game against a good team, but we are committed to winning the Greek League, which is the goal we have left. We want to improve ahead of the playoffs," Papapetrou said.

JeremyEvans added 13 points, not only by fillingin forOkaroWhite but by providing the showdown's most memorable highlight, a fierce poster dunk on Tavares.

"It was a good night for us, a good win," coach Dimitris Priftis noted in the post-game presser.

"We had the right mentality. It was very important for our offense that we had 18 assists and 5 turnovers. We also played some good defense. Now we have to focus on Sunday's game against AEK," he added.

According to Priftis, Panathinaikos managed to draw the curtain to their home games on a high note, but the Greek coach thinks it's a pity that PAO didn't record more wins in the season.

In any case, PAO coach believes that the win over Real Madrid can turn into a morale booster for his players.

"We needed it," he explained. "Obviously, the people who come to support us need a night like this. Beyond that, it is up to us to keep doing some things the right way and more often."

For the record, the official ticket count stopped at 2.682 this time, but the home fans in attendance were at least 500 more and became extremely loud upon realizing that their team was determined to stop the four-year itch against Real Madrid.

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