There was a lack of competitiveness that killed Olimpia’s chances in Athens. Panathinaikos took control of the game late in the first quarter and never relinquished it in a 79-62 beating. “We started missing lay-ups and defensive assignments but more than anything else we didn’t respond. Our lack of competitiveness was frankly embarrassing,” Coach Ettore Messina said. Panathinaikos broke the game apart with Marius Grigonis and Juancho Hernengomez making their threes and Mathis Lessort establishing his power inside. Olimpia had only a couple of moments of hope. When Nikola Mirotic scored on a series of possessions cutting the margin to five and early in the second half with Devon Hall creating chances and suddenly Olimpia was down by eleven and ball possession. A missed shot generated a Grigonis three-pointer and in a seconds momentum returned to the Panathinaikos’ side.

“We were facing the best team in The EuroLeague next to Real Madrid. To compete you have to be mentally stronger. We allowed 10 fastbreak points in the first half alone. It was embarrassing”, Messina added. Olimpia made four threes for the night but the last two came in the fourth quarter when the game was done. Panathinaikos was able to keep Shavon Shields scoreless from three-point territory and he was riding an 11-game streak with at least two threes made per game. They trapped him all over the floor forcing him to pass or to put the ball down.