“Fenerbahçe and Panathinaikos Claim Victory in Two Thrilling Matches”
The reigning Euroleague champions, the Panathinaikos basketball team, triumphed over Efes with a score of 87:83 (21:18, 19:30, 24:24, 23:11) in their playoff opener held in Athens.
Juancho Hernangomez spearheaded the effort with an impressive performance of 20 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, and three steals, totaling a remarkable 40-point index.
Kendrick Nunn also made significant contributions, scoring 15 points and dishing out five assists. Omer Jurceven added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Kostas Slukas chipped in with 13.
For Efes, the standout performers included Vincent Poirier, who scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds, along with Shane Larkin, who also netted 17 points, accompanied by seven rebounds.
Elijah Bryant contributed 14 points, while Derek Willis scored 11 points.
The second matchup is set to take place again in Athens on Thursday at 20:30.
In another quarter-final, Fenerbahçe overcame Paris with a score of 83:78 (18:22, 31:20, 14:20, 20:16) in Istanbul, securing a 1-0 lead in the series.
The Turkish squad was led by Wade Baldwin, who scored 15 points, while Nigel Hayes-Davies contributed 14 points and six rebounds. Devon Hall added 13 points and four assists, with both Eric McCollum and Tarik Biberovic registering 11 points each.
The top performer for Paris was Nadir Hifi with 21 points, followed by Tyson Ward with 19 points and five rebounds, and TJ Shorts, who recorded 17 points and seven assists.
The next game will be held on Thursday at 19:45 in Istanbul.
Quarter-final series will be played in a best-of-five format.
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