Eurocup Qualifying Round, Game 2 report: Panellinios 74-79 VEF Riga
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 Panellinios advanced to the Eurocup regular season despite a 74-79 home loss against VEF Riga in Game 2 of their two-way series in Athens, Greece on Tuesday. Panellinios won the series on aggregate score, as it had registered a 79-94 road loss in Game 1 in the Latvian capital. Meanwhile, VEF was relegated to play 2009-10 FIBA EuroChallenge but registered its first win in European club competitions since September 17, 1991, when the team downed Stadt Sport of Germany 79-96 in the Saporta Cup's first qualifying round. Alex Renfroe and Ingus Bankevics paced VEF each with 23 points. Britton Johnsen led Panellinios with 22 points. Rod Blakney and Devin Smith each added 13 while Ian Vougioukas had 10 for the hosts. Bankevics shined in the first quarter to keep VEF in the game, 17-15, after 10 minutes. Johnsen and Smith stepped up in the second quarter to boost the hosts' lead to 48-37 seconds before halftime. VEF improved its defense and found a go-to guy in Renfroe, but Panellinios sealed the outcome of the series, 64-60, at the end of the third quarter. VEF did not surrender and got the lead, 70-71, with 4 minutes to go. An outstanding Renfroe allowed VEF to add a prestigious win.
Bankevics got VEF going with consecutive three-pointers to give his team a 2-6 lead. Johnsen followed a triple with a dunk, as VEF entered the foul bonus too early. He soon added a power layup to cap a 9-0 run, good for an 11-6 Panellinios lead. Blakney struck twice from downtown but Bankevics and Ivan Nelyubov kept VEF within 17-15. Smith banked in a fallaway jumper and soon added a three-point play to keep the hosts ahead, 24-20. Johnsen stayed unstoppable but Arturs Stalbergs sank his second three-pointer and Renfroe beat the buzzer with a floating layup for a 29-25 VEF deficit after 10 minutes. Johnsen kept pacing Panellinios early in the second quarter while a layup by Vougioukas made it a double-digit game, 35-25. Bankevics and Nelyubov tried to bring VEF back to life and free throws by Martynas Mazeika got his team within 37-33. Panellinios found a go-to guy in Vougioukas while a three-point by Djuro Ostojic kept his team way ahead, 46-37. Free throws by Blakney and a big basket by Renfroe fixed the halftime score at 48-39.
Bankevics fired in his fourth and fifth three-pointers immediately after the break but Johnsen answered twice from downtown and Smith added a fast break dunk to make VEF call timeout at 56-45. Nelyubov took over with a put-back dunk and Mazeika followed a triple with a free throw to give VEF some hope at 58-51. Smith stepped up with consecutive baskets but Janis Gailitis and an unstoppable Renfroe made it a three-point game, 62-59. Free throws by Blakney gave Panellinios a four-point lead, 64-60, after 30 minutes. The outcome of the series was clear but VEF kept fighting. Even with that, a three-point play by Josh Davis and a wide open triple by Blakney gave Panellinios a 70-64 edge with 7 minutes to go. Arnas Labuckas followed an easy basket with a big three-pointer while Renfroe completed the guests' comeback, 70-71, with 4 minutes to go. Labuckas capped a 0-9 run with a jumper while Renfroe buried a seven-meter bomb for a 72-76 VEF lead with 2 minutes left. Renfroe scored in transition while a free throw by Labuckas sealed the outcome down the stretch.
Post-game comments
Panellinios BC head coach Ilias Zouros
"From this game, we only held onto the qualification. It is very important for the team to qualify for third consecutive year to the Eurocup. Still we are not ready and need a lot of work. We are not on the correct path, especially on defense. It was good to see Papamakarios take more time on the court and Kalaitzis come back after his injury. It was not so pleasant that Britton Johnsen was injured and very probably will be absent for roughly one month, so our injury problems are multiplied."
Panellinios BC guard Manolis Papamakarios
"We are thankful that we qualified for third year in a row to the Eurocup. We are not, however, very grateful for our performance. It will be necessary for us to improve a lot of things now from now until the regular season starts. The team has a lot of possibilities and I hope that at the end of the season, we achieve our objectives."
VEF Riga guard Gregory Renfoe
"Our objective was to win and cover the difference of 15 points. We did not begin well, and afterwards when we were improved, there was not enough time left to accomplish what we wanted. But we are satisfied with the victory."
VEF Riga head coach Valdis Valters
"I want to congratulate Panellinios B.C for the qualification and to wish them good luck going forward. We have young players and these games are hard tests. We won because we improved in defense and are happy for the victory."
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Eurocupbasketball.com
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