Panathinaikos beats AEK 83-74 in GBL as Greg Brown suffers Achilles injury

The result

Panathinaikos AKTOR beat AEK 83-74 on Sunday, 8 November, at the SUNEL Arena in the sixth round of the Stoiximan GBL. The win lifted the visitors to 5-1, with three wins from three home games and two from three away games. Panathinaikos still carries a two-point deduction imposed over last season's championship finals. AEK fell to 2-4 and lost at home for the first time this season.

Branko Badio led the winners with 25 points, hitting six of seven three-pointers, and added 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Nigel Hayes-Davis scored 14 points with four of four from beyond the arc and handed out 3 assists. Bartley led AEK with 19 points, but the home side made only 16 of 31 free throws, a shortfall one outlet linked to its late collapse.

Branko Badio (Panathinaikos)25

Bartley (AEK)19

Nigel Hayes-Davis (Panathinaikos)14

Francisco (Panathinaikos)14

Branko Badio (Panathinaikos)

25 points

Bartley (AEK)

19 points

Nigel Hayes-Davis (Panathinaikos)

14 points

Francisco (Panathinaikos)

14 points

Data from the article text

How the game unfolded

AEK opened with a 9-0 run and led 19-14 at the end of the first quarter. Francisco scored Panathinaikos's first basket at 3 minutes 30 seconds, but the home side kept control and reached 29-26 at the middle of the second quarter. Panathinaikos then took its first lead, 29-31, at 16 minutes 26 seconds, through two free throws by Bonga and a three-pointer by Badio. One report counted 10 turnovers by Panathinaikos in the first half, which handed AEK easy points.

AEK answered with a three-pointer from Williams and a long buzzer-beating shot from Bartley after he stole the ball, sending the teams into the break with AEK ahead 40-37. Panathinaikos edged back in front during the third quarter and led 55-58 after 30 minutes. Badio's five points pushed the margin to 57-63 at 31 minutes 22 seconds, and AEK could not close the gap in the final minutes.

Injuries and absences

AEK lost Greg Brown before halftime after he went down with an injury to his right Achilles tendon. The club said he would be taken to hospital at Mediterraneo for a full medical check, and one report said AEK was waiting on his test results. Dimitris Fliounis also left the game with abdominal discomfort. AEK had already been without Tomas Ertel, Lukas Lekavicius, Kyson Fizel and Gaio Skordilis, so coach Dragan Sakota finished with a rotation of seven players.

Panathinaikos was missing Kendrick Nunn, who was in Qatar because of a passport issue, Kostas Sloukas, who was dealing with tightness in his left adductor, Gerson Yabusele, who had the flu, and Nikos Rogkavopoulos and Lefteris Mantzoukas. The club said it would check Sloukas and Yabusele during the week of 9 November. AEK's club statement ended with a message to the injured guard.

“Our thoughts are with you, Greg.”

Rotation and the schedule ahead

Zeljko Obradovic praised AEK after the game. He said it was a difficult match, adding that the home side played very well in the first half. He pointed to the errors his team made early and said Panathinaikos attacked more aggressively after the break, which eased its offense.

“It was a difficult game, it was not easy. They played very well in the first half.”

Obradovic said his players needed rest and would have time off from Monday, 9 November, until Tuesday, 10 November. The team would then have three days to prepare for its match against Barcelona. He described the calendar as hard, with six games in 12 days.

“We have six games in 12 days, a difficult schedule. But we have to find a way to be ready.”