May 22, 2013
Playoffs Game 3 - March 31, 2009 CET: 20:45 Local time: 20:45 - PALAESTRA
Montepaschi Siena 53 - 72 Panathinaikos
PLAYOFFS, GAME 3
GROUP Quarterfinal 1
GROUP Quarterfinal 2
GROUP Quarterfinal 3
GROUP Quarterfinal 4

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
1-1 Playoffs 1-1
4-2 Top 16 5-1
8-2 Regular Season 7-3
13-5 Overall 13-5

Referees

Crew Chief
JUNGEBRAND, CARL, Finland
Referee
HIERREZUELO, DANI, Spain
Umpire
DOZAI, SRDAN, Croatia

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
82.0 Points 79.7
30.5 Rebounds 31.9
9.4 O. Rebounds 9.1
21.1 D. Rebounds 22.8
12.4 Assists 13.9
11.7 Steals 9.0
2.1 Blocks 2.9
12.9 Turnovers 14.3
53.8 % 2PT 58.2 %
37.2 % 3PT 36.0 %
81.1 % FT 77.2 %
87.9 Index 89.9
Team Stats - Montepaschi Siena
Team Stats - Panathinaikos

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
16.5 / MCINTYRE, TERRELL Points 12.8 / Batiste
6.8 / Lavrinovic, K. Rebounds 4.8 / Batiste
1.9 / Lavrinovic, K. OR 1.9 / PEKOVIC, NIKOLA
4.7 / STONEROOK, SHAUN DR 3.3 / Batiste
4.6 / MCINTYRE, TERRELL Assists 3.1 / Diamantidis
2.3 / STONEROOK, SHAUN Steals 1.6 / Diamantidis
1.0 / Eze Blocks 0.7 / Fotsis
2.3 / MCINTYRE, TERRELL Turnovers 2.1 / Jasikevicius
68.5 % / MCINTYRE, TERRELL 2PT 67.7 % / Batiste
55.0 % / Carraretto 3PT 46.2 % / Diamantidis
100.0 % / FINLEY, MORRIS FT 100.0 % / KECMAN, DUSAN
19.1 / MCINTYRE, TERRELL Index 15.4 / Batiste
Team Roster - Montepaschi Siena
Team Roster - Panathinaikos

THE TAKE

Game 3 of what has been arguably the most entertaining Quarterfinal Series so far takes place on Tuesday in Siena, Italy, where Montepaschi hosts Panathinaikos in their best-of-five Quarterfinal Playoffs series. The series is knotted at 1-1 after a pair of tense games in Athens, Greece. Game 3 and 4 take place in Italy with a fifth and deciding game – if necessary – to be held back in Greece. Both teams pulled out all the stops in Game 2, getting contributions from injured stars that were doubtful to play. The Greens called upon guard Dimitris Diamantidis, who was sidelined with a thigh injury, to step in and play 22 minutes, while the Italian champs played All-Euroleague big man Ksistof Lavrinovic for 16 minutes despite a broken hand. Those two stars could have even bigger roles in Game 3, especially considering the fact that nether had domestic games over the weekend, giving Panathinaikos head coach Zeljko Obradovic and his Montepaschi counterpart Simone Pianigiani plenty of extra time to prepare for Game 3. The big issue in the games so far has been inside, with Panathinaikos’s super-deep frontcourt of Mike Batiste, Nikola Pekovic, Antonis Fotsis and Kostas Tsartsaris trying to take advantage of Montepaschi, which was forced to use 1.94-meter forward Romain Sato or the inexperienced Luca Lechthaler inside when starters Shaun Stonerook or Ben Eze fell into foul trouble. The return of Lavrinovic changes the balance in the paint a bit and more success on the glass for Montepaschi could translate into more baskets in transition for the team. On the perimeter, Montepaschi’s star and on-court leader Terrell McIntyre will take on Diamantidis in a classic matchup, while Rimas Kaukenas, Henry Domercant and Sato are the hosts’ main weapons on the wings. The Greek champs counter with Vassilis Spanoulis, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Drew Nicholas at guard and Stratos Perperoglu at small forward. This series has been the highest-scoring of the four this far and Game 3 figures to be another battle of scorers. The home team will be desperate to get point from someone aside from McIntye, Kaukenas and Sato, hoping that someone down low heats up to balance the Montepaschi attack. Four different Panathinaikos players have scored in double figures in both games so far and the Greens will hope that offensive diversity makes a difference down the stretch in Game 3. With two teams now healthy and featuring talented and experienced squads that have met four times already this season, this game is must-see basketball. Nevertheless, Montepaschi’s 14-game home-court winning streak does give Pianigiani’s men a certain advantage that will be tough for Panathinaikso to wipe away.

GAME NOTES

Montepaschi Siena
  • Montepaschi Siena has won 14 straight and 18 of its last 19 Euroleague home games dating back to the start of last season.
  • All-Euroleague playmaker Terrell McIntyre has made at least 1 three-pointer in 14 straight appearances. (27 for 64)
  • McIntyre has scored in double figures in nine consecutive games.
  • Center Ben Eze needs 1 more block to move into a tie for 20th place on the Euroleague Basketball career blocked shots chart. Eze is currently tied with Panathinaikos’s Dimitris Diamantidis for 21st place with 68 blocks. Patrick Femerling of Alba Berlin and Viktor Khryapa of CSKA, who also plays on Tuesday, are tied for 19th and 20th place with 69 blocks.
  • Guard Henry Domercant has made his last 22 free throws over a span of 11 games. He is shooting 93.1% from the line for the season.
  • Forward Romain Sato set Euroleague career highs with 29 points and a 40 index in the Game 1 loss at Panathinaikos.
  • Domercant matched his Euroleague career high with 29 points against Panathinaikos in an April 2005 Quarterfinal Playoff game. Domercant, then with Efes Pilsen, scored 29 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in a 102-96 overtime loss at OAKA. Current Panathinaikos swingman Dusan Kecman was a teammate of Domercant on that team.
  • Ariel McDonald spent two seasons playing for Panathinaikos, winning two Greek championships and one Greek Cup. Aside from head coach Zeljko Obradovic, McDonald will be reunited with former teammates Fragiskos Alvertis, Mike Batiste, Nikos Hatzivrettas, Dusan Sakota and Kostas Tsartsaris.
  • Reserve shooting guard Marco Carraretto set Euroleague career bests in points and three-point shooting when he went 5 for 5 from downtown and finished with 15 points in Montepaschi’s win over Panathinaikos in January.
Panathinaikos
  • Guard Dimitris Diamantidis needs 1 more block to move into a tie for 20th place on the Euroleague Basketball career blocked shots chart. Diamantidis is currently tied with Montepaschi’s Ben Eze for 21st place with 68 blocks. Patrick Femerling of Alba Berlin and Viktor Khryapa of CSKA, who also plays on Tuesday, are tied for 19th and 20th place with 69 blocks.
  • Power forward Antonis Fotsis and Montepaschi guard Henry Domercant were teammates at Dynamo Moscow last season, helping the club reach the ULEB Cup semifinals.
  • Guard Sarunas Jasikevicius was a teammate of Montepaschi big man Ksistof Lavrinovic and guard Rimas Kaukenas on the Lithuanian Olympic team last summer. Jasikevicius and Lavrinovic were also teammates on the Lithuanian side that won the 2003 European championships in Sweden.
  • Big man Mike Batiste scored a season-high 28 points against Montepaschi when they met in January.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

PIANIGIANI, SIMONE
Montepaschi Siena
"We know perfectly that it will be another tough game, because Panathinaikos is a team built to win the Euroleague and they can win anywhere. They will arrive in Siena ready to put on the court all their skills and pride, and confidence that they can make a great result. We must to play better than in Game 2 if we want to win again. We achieved something amazing in Athens, but our goal is to take another big step on the way to the Final Four. I hope that we'll have a better shooting percentage playing on our home court."
OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
Panathinaikos
"We prepared for Game 3 against Montepaschi Siena with the highest concentration and that is how I want to see my players behave at the Palasports. The upcoming games are expected to be very difficult like the previous two we played in Athens, as both teams have great quality and want to take the ticket to the Final Four. We watched Game 2 with big attention and realized that we stopped competing after 27 minutes, wasting a 16-point lead. This time we have to play aggressively for 40 minutes in order to get the home-court advantage back. We respect Montepaschi as a team, but we strongly believe that we can beat them and take the lead. With good defense and rebounding, I think we can make it there."

Players

DOMERCANT, HENRY
Montepaschi Siena
"From now on, every game is like a final. The past games with Panathanikos have all been very close, so we know it will be difficult, but we are excited to have the homecourt advantage now. I am excited. I feel like we have a good opportunity to get to the Final Four in Berlin. You never know how many times you'll have this opportunity in your career. I also think that defense and rebounding are always the key to winning games."
JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS
Panathinaikos
"Another tough game against Siena is a head of us, so we have to be concentrated and do our business knowing that usually our games are close. We have to pay more attention in small details, small things. We must reduce our turnovers, because Siena will punish us and control the rebounding by not allowing us to take offensive boards. In the two previous games, we gave them the opportunity to score easy baskets, as they are one of the best teams in steals. They are a good and athletic team, but we can get at least one win in Italy. We are responsible for putting ourselves in trouble, but we have the quality as a team to fight and come back. Both teams have quality and want badly to make the Final Four, so we know that concentration for 40 minutes and small things will decide the winner."
Vassilis Spanoulis - PanathinaikosPanathinaikos moved within one win of returning to the Final Four for the first time since winning the Euroleague in 2007 when it defeated Montepaschi Siena 53-72 on Tuesday in Italy to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five Quarterfinal Playoffs series. Game 4 is back in Siena on Thursday, with the Greens aiming to clinch a ticket to Berlin. Panathinaikos started the second period with 10 unanswered points and later reeled off 14 in a row to take a 26-39 halftime lead. Montepaschi's offense remained cold after the break and Panathinaikos piled on its lead till it peaked at 28 early in the fourth quarter. The key for the visitors was rebounding as they dominated the glass 27-46 including 13 offensive rebounds. The loss snapped a 14-game home-court winning streak for Montpeaschi, which hadn’t lost at home since December 2007. Vassilis Spanoulis paced Panathinaikos with 13 points and 4 assists. Drew Nicholas also scored 13, while Nikola Pekovic netted 11, Sarunas Jasikevicius 10 and Kostas Tsartsaris produced 8 points and 10 rebounds. Terrell McIntyre led Montepaschi with 13 points, Henry Domercant scored 12 and Rimas Kaukenas 10.

Terrell McIntyre - Montepaschi SienaThe home fans made their presence felt with a barrage of papers on the court that delayed the game for several seconds after the opening tip. Both teams missed before Mike Batiste’s mid-range jumper got Panathinaikos on the scoreboard. Shaun Stonerook answered right away for Montepaschi from downtown. Tough defenses kept the score low, even though the game was played at a high pace. The duo of Spanoulis and Batiste pushed the Greens ahead, first with a pick-and-roll that resulted in a Batiste slam and then after Batiste’s rebound led to Spanoulis going coast to coast to make it 7-10. Soon McIntyre fed Ben Eze for a slam for the hosts, but a Spanoulis triple made it 9-15 and caused Montepaschi head coach Simone Pianigiani to use a timeout. Montepaschi sent Domercant into the game and his three narrowed the gap to 1 before Kaukenas corrected McIntyre’s missed layup to put the hosts ahead 16-15 after 10 minutes.

Antonis Fotsis put the visitors back on top with a triple to start the second quarter and Nicholas soon extended the cushion to 7 with a layup and a three. Jasikevicius hit a pull-up jumper to extend the Greens’ run to 0-10 before Morris Finley ended Montepaschi’s three-and-a-half minute scoring drought from the line. But Domercant fired in a three in transition and then hit twice from the line as Montepaschi stormed right back. Stratos Perperoglou kept Panathinaikos ahead with a three and Pekovic’s dunk made it 23-30. Fotsis followed with a long three that put the Greens up 10. Dimitris Diamantidis slashed by the Montepaschi defense for a layup and Spanoulis did the same. Pekovic scored in the paint to conclude a run of 14 unanswered points that made it 23-39. McIntyre connected on a three, but it was only enough to narrow the gap to 26-39 at halftime.

Dimitris Diamantidis - PanathinaikosMontepaschi’s offense remained cold after the break and second chance baskets by Spanoulis and Tsartsaris made things even worse for the hosts. Spanoulis added 2 from the line to increase the lead to 19. Finley finally scored for Montepaschi, but it was an uphill battle for the locals. Panathinaikos continued to dominate the glass, crating extra chances that the team converted into more points. Kaukenas scored from the line and Finley made Montepaschi’s first field goal of the half after nearly five minutes. The impact was minimal, however, as Jasikevicius made a three to put Panathinaikos up 20. Domercant and Jasikevicius swapped free throws before Spanoulis and Diamantidis fed Pekovic inside on successive possessions to end the third period with a 37-60 advantage.

Spanoulis and Pekovic added baskets as Panathinaikos looked to put the game out of reach. Domercant hit twice from the line only to see Saras fire in a three that made it 39-67. Free throws by Kaukenas and a three from McIntyre didn’t threaten the visitors, who enjoyed the closing minutes as they cruised to a big win and a 2-1 series advantage.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Euroleague.net
Referees: JUNGEBRAND, CARL (FIN), HIERREZUELO, DANI (ESP), DOZAI, SRDAN (CRO)
Attendance: 6996
By Quarter1234
Montepaschi Siena16101116
Panathinaikos15242112
End of Quarter1234
Montepaschi Siena16263753
Panathinaikos15396072
Head coach: PIANIGIANI, SIMONE
Montepaschi Siena
# 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
4 DOMERCANT, HENRY 19:04 12 0/3 2/4 6/6   1 1     1       5 12
5 MCINTYRE, TERRELL 29:20 13 2/4 3/5     3 3 3 2 2   1 3 5 16
7 FINLEY, MORRIS 10:40 6 1/4 0/2 4/4       1 1     1   2 4
8 EZE, BENJAMIN 27:34 2 1/3   0/2 1 6 7   2 3 2   2 2 6
9 CARRARETTO, MARCO 10:56 1   0/1 1/2   4 4     1       1 3
10 SATO, ROMAIN 21:31 2 1/4 0/2 0/1   2 2   2     1   2 1
12 LAVRINOVIC, KSISTOF 23:10   0/5 0/1     2 2 2     1 2 1   -4
13 KAUKENAS, RIMANTAS 29:38 10 2/6 0/1 6/6 3   3 2 1 1     3 5 12
14 RESS, TOMAS 7:00                              
18 LECHTHALER, LUCA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 MCDONALD, ARRIEL DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
20 STONEROOK, SHAUN 21:07 7 2/4 1/4   1 3 4 1 3 1 1   3   7
Team           1   1               1
Totals 200:00 53 9/33 6/20 17/21 6 21 27 9 11 9 4 5 12 22 58
27.3% 30% 81%
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 0:25                              
6 SPANOULIS, VASSILIS 31:22 13 4/4 1/4 2/2 1 5 6 4 1 2     4 2 17
7 PERPEROGLOU, STRATOS 19:02 3 0/1 1/2     3 3 1 1 2 1   2   3
8 BATISTE, MIKE 23:55 6 3/10     2 4 6   1 3 1 2 3 1  
9 FOTSIS, ANTONIS 20:42 6   2/4   1 3 4 1     1       10
10 HATZIVRETTAS, NIKOS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11 NICHOLAS, DREW 28:39 13 2/6 3/7     3 3 1 1 1     3 1 7
12 TSARTSARIS, KOSTAS 17:38 8 3/3 0/1 2/2 6 4 10     1     3 3 16
13 DIAMANTIDIS, DIMITRIS 24:13 2 1/3     1 3 4 5   2 2   2   7
14 PEKOVIC, NIKOLA 16:05 11 5/8   1/2 1 5 6     1   2 3 2 9
15 SAKOTA, DUSAN 1:40     0/1   1   1                
19 JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS 16:19 10 1/3 2/5 2/2   2 2 2 1 1     2 3 10
Team             1 1               1
Totals 200:00 72 19/38 9/24 7/8 13 33 46 14 5 13 5 4 22 12 80
50% 37.5% 87.5%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

PIANIGIANI, SIMONE
Montepaschi Siena
"First of all, we have to congratulate Panathinaikos for the victory tonight, which they deserved. Concerning the game, we had a very bad second quarter and we trailed by double figures. We also missed too many shots during all the game. We will try now to recover after this result and we're gonna try to tie the series on Thursday."
OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
Panathinaikos
"We got a very, very important victory here tonight. I think we played very good defense, and we were very focused on our play for all the game. But, to be honest, Siena missed too many shots in this game and we know that they are a better team than this. We did a good job on their pick-and-roll, switching every time after the pick, but I think that sometimes the games starts well and then you play with great confidence, and that's happened tonight for us. But we have now to forget this game, the real count is not +19 but 2-1 in the series and we have to win another game to reach our goal."

Players

DOMERCANT, HENRY
Montepaschi Siena
"It's a great disappointment tonight, because we missed a chance to lead the series. But this result could be motivation for us, because now we have to think about the next game. We play again in 48 hours, we can only go back to work to be ready and try to tie the series."
TSARTSARIS, KOSTAS
Panathinaikos
"Tonight we played as we should have done all year long and now this is the crucial point of the season. Tonight we proved that we deserve to go to the Final Four, and we will fight in the next game also. We showed tonight the heart of a winner, we know what it takes to get the top, we have lot of good players on this team and we will fight to win also on Thursday."
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