May 24, 2013
Regular Season Game 2 - October 30, 2008 CET: 20:30 Local time: 20:30 - PALAU BLAUGRANA
Regal FC Barcelona 90 - 66 Panathinaikos

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
1-0 Regular Season 1-0
1-0 Overall 1-0

Referees

Crew Chief
FACCHINI, FABIO, Italy
Referee
JOVCIC, MILIVOJE, Serbia
Umpire
CHAMBON, DAVID, France

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
82.0 Points 78.0
43.0 Rebounds 28.0
10.0 O. Rebounds 3.0
33.0 D. Rebounds 25.0
23.0 Assists 14.0
4.0 Steals 10.0
5.0 Blocks 4.0
9.0 Turnovers 10.0
56.5 % 2PT 55.8 %
35.0 % 3PT 27.8 %
81.8 % FT 88.2 %
106.0 Index 85.0
Team Stats - Regal FC Barcelona
Team Stats - Panathinaikos

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
18.0 / ILYASOVA, ERSAN Points 15.0 / Diamantidis
12.0 / ILYASOVA, ERSAN Rebounds 6.0 / Fotsis
5.0 / ILYASOVA, ERSAN OR 2.0 / Fotsis
7.0 / ILYASOVA, ERSAN DR 4.0 / Fotsis
4.0 / Navarro Assists 5.0 / KECMAN, DUSAN
1.0 / Basile Steals 4.0 / KECMAN, DUSAN
3.0 / Vazquez Blocks 1.0 / Batiste
2.0 / Andersen Turnovers 2.0 / Tsartsaris
100.0 % / BARTON, LUBOS 2PT 100.0 % / Perperoglou
75.0 % / Lakovic 3PT 100.0 % / HATZIVRETTAS, NIKOS
100.0 % / Navarro FT 100.0 % / PEKOVIC, NIKOLA
26.0 / ILYASOVA, ERSAN Index 17.0 / Diamantidis
Team Roster - Regal FC Barcelona
Team Roster - Panathinaikos

THE TAKE

A highly-anticipated Euroleague showdown is set to take place in Barcelona, Spain, where Regal FCB welcomes Panathinaikos in Group B on Thursday. Even though these teams have only faced each other 14 times in the past, Barcelona and Panathinaikos have become archrivals since the 1996 Euroleague final, one of the most controversial games in European club basketball history. Panathinaikos edged Barcelona 67-66 to win the first of its four Euroleague titles. Barcelona, a Euroleague winner in 2003, has fully reloaded its roster with former All-Euroleague first team selections such as Juan Carlos Navarro and David Andersen. Panathinaikos kept its core of players while adding Nikola Pekovic, Drew Nicholas and Antonis Fotsis. It will be a very special game for Panathinaikos point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, a three-time Euroleague winner who played for Barcelona from 2000 to 2003 and remains a fan-favorite in that city. Jasikevicius leads a star-flooded backcourt that also features four-time Defensive Player of the Year Dimitris Diamantidis, Nicholas and defensive ace Dusan Kecman. Its other top guard, Vassilis Spanoulis is injured and not expected to play against Barcelona. Barcelona is also very deep at point guard with Victor Sada, Andre Barrett and former Panathinaikos superstar Jaka Lakovic, who will be a key factor in this game. Lakovic is just one of the many outside scorers Barcelona has. Navarro, three-point threat Gianluca Basile and versatile forward Lubos Barton are ready to pull the trigger from downtown. Roger Grimau will have the tough mission to stop Nicholas, Panathinaikos swingman Nikos Hatzivrettas will test his defensive skills against Navarro and Basile while Barton faces a key matchup against Stratos Perperoglou, who is in great shape this season. Barton can join forces with another versatile player in Ersan Ilyasova to break any man-to-man defense at both forward spots. Ilyasova faces a very similar player in Antonis Fotsis, as both can jump, shoot, score and run the court. Barcelona has to focus on guarding the powerful Pekovic. Daniel Santiago has the size to stop him, while Fran Vazquez and Jordi Trias are outstanding defenders ready to offer intensity and aggressiveness against him and Mike Batiste. Fragiskos Alvertis may play a key role off the Panathinaikos bench due to his experience and deep range. The Greens feature a six-time Euroleague winning coach in Zeljko Obradovic, who will try to use his experience against Xavi Pascual of Regal FCB. Expect a fully packed Palau Blaugrana and a game that could be a foreshadowing of things to come in Berlin as two of the top candidates to win the Euroleague title face each other.

GAME QUOTES

Regal FC Barcelona
  • Guard Juan Carlos Navarro enters his team’s Week 2 game needing only 3 more three-pointers to reach 250 for his Euroleague Basketball career. He is currently sixth on the all-time list.
  • Navarro, who is best-known for his scoring, is also rapidly climbing the all-time assists charts. He enters Week 2 with 286 career assists, ranking him 16th in Euroleague Basketball history. His next dish for a basket will be tie him with Anthony Parker for 15th place and the after that sees him join Scoonie Penn for 14th. Interestingly enough, Navarro’s career-high is assists came against his next opponent, Panathinaikos, in February 2007.
  • Center David Andersen enters his team’s Week 2 game tied with former teammate Michail Kakiouzis for 10th place on the all-time Euroleague Basketball offensive rebounding charts. They each have 237 for their careers. Dejan Tomasevic with 243 and Marcus Goree with 244 are ninth and eighth all-time, respectively.
  • Center Xavi Rey’s first appearance this season will also be his Euroleague Basketball debut.
  • Guard Jaka Lakovic spent four seasons wearing the Panathinaikos green, during which he won four Greek championships and three Greek Cups.
Panathinaikos
  • Guard Sarunas Jasikevicius trails the legendary Dejan Bodiroga by just 9 points for 10th place on the all-time Euroleague Basketball scoring charts. “Saras” has scored 1,599 points in 114 career Euroleague games.
  • Jasikevicius won the first of his three Euroleague crowns with Barcelona in 2003. He also won one Spanish championship and two Kings’ Cups in his three season with the club. The only player on the current Barcelona roster that played there with Jasikevicius is Juan Carlos Navarro.
  • Forward Mike Batiste is 18 points behind Jorge Garbajosa for 20th place on the all-time Euroleague scoring charts. He enters the game with 1339 career points.
  • Dimitris Diamantidis trails Jorge Garbajosa by 3 steals for fifth place all-time in Euroleague Basketball. He enters the game with 190 career steals.
  • Center Nikola Pekovic recorded his best ever Euroleague performance against Barcelona in last year’s season opener. Pekovic led his team at the time, Partizan, to a surprising win with a career-high 29 points on 13-for-14 shooting plus 8 rebounds to win the Euroleaue’s weekly MVP honor.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

PASCUAL, XAVIER
Regal FC Barcelona
"After the game, we'll know if a big one like this came too soon or not. To start, we see this confrontation as an important one considering the shape we find ourselves in. It's a good way of playing against one of the best teams on the continent and we'll see what conclusions come of it. I believe that we've taken a first step in terms of maturity and playing level. We still have to hone certain things because we're still growing, but that is happening, too, with Panathinaikos, which has also added several new players."
OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
Panathinaikos
"The game in Barcelona is very important. Actually, all 10 games of the Euroleague regular season are very important and we have to go there with high concentration. Barcelona is a really good team with a very deep roster. We have watched their games in the Spanish League, in the Euroleague and also their exhibition games in the United States. They have great quality as a team and many good players with clear roles in the team’s rotation. With no doubt Barcelona is one of the best teams in Europe this season and we expect a very tough game."

Players

VAZQUEZ, FRAN
Regal FC Barcelona
"Panathinaikos has a complete frontcourt. The five players there are their main offensive weapons. We'll have to tie up Pekovic and Batiste, very important players for them under the basket. We'll have to be strong on defense and try to make them take a lot of fouls."
BATISTE, MIKE
Panathinaikos
"Now that the regular season has been shortened to 10 games, I would say that the battle in Barcelona is really important for us, since we are going to compete at one of the group contenders’ home court. It is the first real test for Panathinaikos and all of us are motivated to beat Barcelona on the road. They have great players like Lakovic, Navarro, Andersen and many others, so we can’t just focus in one or two players, but must face the whole team of Barcelona with high concentration and aggressiveness. My team has started the season very well. It is important that so far we combine wins with good basketball and we know how far our team can go."
Juan Carlos Navarro - Regal FC BarcelonaA showdown between superpowers turned into a one-sided affair in Group B on Thursday as Regal FC Barcelona blew away visiting Panathinaikos 90-66 in a game that was never close after the first few minutes. Barcelona raised its record to 2-0 and shares first place in the group with Montepaschi Siena, while Panathinaikos fell to even at 1-1. A variety of offensive firepower and a defense that allowed Panathinaikos very few options spelled early dominance as Barcelona led by double digits after one quarter and never looked back. Juan Carlos Navarro paced the winners with 21 points and 4 assists. Ersan Ilyasova followed with 14 points and Fran Vazquez with 12. Roger Grimau and David Andersen added 9 each. Barça absolutely ruled the inside, winning 36-23 on the boards rebounds and holding Panathinaikos to 10-for-39 (29%) two-point shooting through three quarters, after which the difference rose as high as 32 points. Nikola Pekovic led the Greens with 15 points, while Mike Batiste had most of his 14 in the final quarter and Dimitris Diamantidis added 10. Panathinaikos saw 5 different players miss all of their two-point attempts, 13 in all among them.

Both teams tried to establish the interior game early, with Barcelona getting it right first as Santiago put in a pair of quick baskets. A back-in layup by Pekovic opened the Panathinaikos scoring, to which Diamantidis soon added a three-pointer to put the Greens ahead 4-5. Barton took the lead back for Barça before Navarro popped from downtown and dropped his patented "bomba" shot to make it 11-7. Panathinaikos kept looking for Pekovic, while Navarro found Sada in the corner for another triple and Santiago tipped in at 16-9. Mike Batiste and Ilyasova traded jump shots before an exchange of free throws left a 22-13 scoreboard. Batiste put back an offensive rebound, Vazquez hooked in Barcelona's answer as the hosts reached a 26-15 lead after 10 minutes.

Dimitris Diamantidis - Panathinaikos Both defenses tightened early in the second quarter, but after a couple of tense minutes, Grimau put Barça further ahead with a downtown blast from the wing. By the time Andersen joined the scoring from the baseline, it was 31-16. Panathinaikos was getting one shot only, or losing the ball, as when Lakovic stole and fed Grimau. Jasikevicius stopped the bleeding with his team's first basket of the quarter and Fotsis soon drilled from long-range at 34-21. Lakovic replied by striking from deep himself, and when Navarro drove for a basket, Barça had its highest lead yet, 40-23. Panathinaikos reestablished Pekovic inside and Fotsis dunked behind Barcelona's zone. But Grimau got loose and Navarro blasted from deep and hooked in running "bomba" to close the first half with the hosts in charge at 50-33.

Backed by a raucous crowd, Barcelona did not let up after the break. The hosts scored the first 5 points of the third quarter on Santiago's next shot and a triple by Barton, while holding Panathinaikos 3 minutes without a basket. When Ilyasova and Vazquez shared 4 points in a row, the Barça lead was 59-36. Vazquez dunked again, Navarro and Ilyasova drove for layups and Andersen buried a short jumper as the difference soared to 27 points, 67-40. Panathinaikos managed only free throws until Sarunas Jasikevicius climbed off the bench and hit a runner, but the difference stood just as unexpectedly at 72-45 after three quarters.

The Barça lead topped out at 32 points, 80-48, after Andersen, Lakovic and Vazquez hit the first three field goals of the final quarter while Panathinaikos continued to settle for free throws. It was only then that the Greens reacted, as a pair of dunks by Batiste sandwiched around more free throws and Drew Nicholas's first basket, a triple, lowered the difference to 83-63. The Greens were working on the point spread and their pride now while Barcelona's fans were enjoyed some late shots by Navarro and Andersen that put the final score at 90-66 and left the home team sitting pretty after two blowout wins in the group.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Euroleague.net
Referees: FACCHINI, FABIO (ITA), JOVCIC, MILIVOJE (SRB), CHAMBON, DAVID (FRA)
Attendance: 6653
By Quarter1234
Regal FC Barcelona26242218
Panathinaikos15181221
End of Quarter1234
Regal FC Barcelona26507290
Panathinaikos15334566
Head coach: PASCUAL, XAVIER
Regal FC Barcelona
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
5 BASILE, GIANLUCA 18:55 2     2/2   5 5   1 2     2 3 7
6 BARRETT, ANDRE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 TRIAS, JORDI DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 BARTON, LUBOS 16:32 5 1/1 1/1   1 1 2 2 2       1 1 11
10 LAKOVIC, JAKA 17:21 7 1/2 1/1 2/2       3 1 4     2 2 6
11 NAVARRO, JUAN CARLOS 27:03 21 6/9 2/5 3/4 1   1 4 1 1       6 25
13 ANDERSEN, DAVID 25:15 9 3/5 1/3     3 3   1 2 1   3 2 7
17 VAZQUEZ, FRAN 22:26 12 4/5   4/6 3 4 7 1     1   3 3 18
21 ILYASOVA, ERSAN 19:59 14 2/5 1/2 7/8 1 5 6 1         2 4 18
24 SADA, VICTOR 23:57 3   1/3   2 1 3 2 1 2     3 1 3
25 SANTIAGO, DANIEL 11:02 8 4/7     1 3 4     1   2 5 1 2
44 GRIMAU, ROGER 17:30 9 2/3 1/2 2/4   1 1           4 2 4
Team             4 4           1   3
Totals 200:00 90 23/37 8/17 20/26 9 27 36 13 7 12 2 2 26 25 104
62.2% 47.1% 76.9%
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Head coach: OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
Panathinaikos
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
5 KECMAN, DUSAN 15:29 4     4/4 1   1           3 3 5
7 PERPEROGLOU, STRATOS 17:39   0/3 0/1         1       1 3 1 -6
8 BATISTE, MIKE 23:39 14 6/9 0/1 2/4 1 3 4   2 2     3 2 11
9 FOTSIS, ANTONIS 25:08 9 2/3 1/1 2/2 2 3 5     1 1   2 1 12
10 HATZIVRETTAS, NIKOS 10:12   0/1 0/2     2 2   1 1     2   -3
11 NICHOLAS, DREW 30:40 4 0/3 1/3 1/2   1 1 2 1         3 5
12 TSARTSARIS, KOSTAS 11:36 4 0/3 1/1 1/2           1     4 2 -3
13 DIAMANTIDIS, DIMITRIS 33:07 10 0/3 2/2 4/4 1 4 5 4   2     2 5 17
14 PEKOVIC, NIKOLA 18:19 15 4/10   7/8   2 2     2 1   5 6 10
15 SAKOTA, DUSAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
17 VERGINIS, DIMITRIOS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS 14:11 6 2/4 0/1 2/2   1 1 2   3   1 1 2 3
Team           2   2               2
Totals 200:00 66 14/39 5/12 23/28 7 16 23 9 4 12 2 2 25 25 53
35.9% 41.7% 82.1%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

PASCUAL, XAVIER
Regal FC Barcelona
"My team played an excellent game defensively and a very intelligent game offensively. We were able to sign off on a complete game. The difference on the scoreboard does not reflect the difference between both teams. Lubos Barton played an excellent game tonight, holding Perperoglou, who was averaging 15 coming into the game, to zero points. We have merely won one game. This is one small step, which allows us to take some confidence as we continue to our goal to qualify for the Top 16. What satisfied me the most today is that we did not make any tactical mistakes defensively."
OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
Panathinaikos
"First of all, I want to congratulate Barcelona for their win tonight. I think they deserved to win the game. They played very seriously and aggressively on defense. We prepared the game down to the final detail, but it went very poorly. It is early in the season, so we have loads of time to change. That starts with the coach. Today the level of my team was not reflected. We can play much better. I want to work with players who will fight. Today not all of the players on the court fought. Everyone knows what a great player Navarro is, but Barcelona played great as a team.”

Players

NAVARRO, JUAN CARLOS
Regal FC Barcelona
"I am very happy. This was our first against a tough opponent. The team was perfect playing at home. At no point did we let them get into the game. We will go out to win every game, but there is still a long way to go. Panathinaikos did not play up to its level. They have very good players, but it is too early to say whether they are candidates for the Final Four or not."
JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS
Panathinaikos
"There was one team playing basketball and another one walking around tonight. We had a very slow start and were always a second behind them, I don't know why. We have to analyze our mistakes. Barcelona played well, but that’s not a surprise to us. We expected Barcelona to play well, but we didn't expect this game from us. We played slow, without aggressiveness, lacking ideas on offense. We have to improve a lot."
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