After significant delays, Panathinaikos rolls over Fenerbahce to advance to the 2024 EuroLeague Final

The first semifinal of the 2024 EuroLeague Final Four can be described in one word: unprepared. Before the game even began, lines to enter the Uber Arena in Berlin experienced a significant backlog that delayed tip by roughly 30 minutes. Security issues were cited in the early stages of the delay, which there were before the game. But that seemed to be only a small part of the problem at most, as plenty of time had passed since the incident and the backlog persisted. 

Nevertheless, the basketball began, and now it was Fenerbahce’s turn to be unprepared. Panathinaikos came out of the gate with great physicality - applying heavy ball pressure, denying dribble handoffs, and pushing the pace the other way. Fener was not ready and quickly found themselves down 12-0. 

Panathinaikos were successful in moving their pick-and-rolls to the wing instead of at the top of the arc, and started plenty of actions by having Kendrick Nunn either set a screen or come off a series of screens himself. Without stationary defense in front of him, Nunn was able to either pull from three in the split-second between Fenerbahce’s hedge and recover, find an open teammate, or slash into the lane to keep the Turkish’s side defense moving. This approach got everyone on the Greens involved, making their spread pick-and-roll offense give an all-new meaning to the word spread. 

“We did this because they were denying us playing up top so the only way to get open or get us open was to get the ball to the other guy who had moved so we adjusted to what they were doing and it worked well,” Dinos Mitoglou told FanSided postgame.

But Fenerbahce responded out of their timeout. Marko Guduric came in for Dyshawn Pierre and provided a combination of athleticism, physicality, and off-the-dribble bounce his team desperately needed. Guduric was only the beginning of Fenerbahce’s bench getting his team back into the game. Starting center Jonathan Motley played the first three minutes and 22 seconds and did not return as Sertac Sanli and Georgios Papagiannis proved capable of rising to the occasion on both ends of the floor. They knocked down threes in pick-and-pop, exploited mismatches down low, and stayed active in drop defense at the other end - getting deflections and refusing to concede any easy looks. 

Fenerbahce chiseled their way back into the game and primarily kept things from getting out of hand. They struggled to get the deficit below six but also kept it from getting into any notable double-digit territory. Then, as Kendrick Nunn finally sat for the first time with roughly four minutes to go, Fenerbahce’s star man Nigel Hayes-Davis stepped up with an offensive fury that included two spot-up threes to get his team back within one possession. Fener battled through the slow start and went into the break only down 38-36.

In the third quarter, Fenerbahce continued to battle. With an adjustment to a small-ball lineup that didn’t feature a true center and instead used Nigel Hayes-Davis at the five, they switched to a five-out offense that opened up driving lanes for Calathes and had Fener playing their best offense of the game. They frustrated PAO at the other end with pressure and brought double teams on forced Mathias Lessort post-ups. At a score of 51-50 Panathinaikos called timeout, and slowly worked their way to a big lineup featuring Jerian Grant, Kalaitzakis, Marius Girgonis, Dinos Mitoglou, and Lessort. 

This meant a quick pull for star Kostas Sloukas, a perhaps controversial move that could have been heavily scrutinized - had it not worked. 

“In a single game it’s what you feel,” Ataman told FanSided at the postgame press conference. “So we take the timeout, change the players, sometimes put Sloukas sometimes put two defensive players. It’s not easy. I have a lot of games in the EuroLeague, it’s my sixth Final Four, so I think that when you focus well on the game you can put yourself in the position to make these decisions.”

Panathinaikos pulled away and went up 56-50 after a clutch three from Kalaitzakis on their final possession of the quarter that lit the crowd up and built Kalaitzakis’ ever-growing list of clutch moments for Panathinaikos on this championship pursuit. His confidence is at an all-time high right when Panathinaikos needs it to be, and he discussed that with FanSided after the game. 

“My teammates, my captain gives me a lot of boost because he’s talking to me before every game,” Kalaitzakis said. “Texting me before every game, I’m talking about Sloukas. He’ll be texting me messages, and he’ll talk to me after every practice before every big game but Ioannis also helps me. These experienced players know how to work, I feel really comfortable in this team with them all, and I know my role and I’m getting minutes and I’m doing it.”

Panathinaikos adjustments paid off, their lead continued to grow early in the fourth quarter and Fenerbahce’s small ball group was found out. They never found their way back into the game as their offense completely cratered - finishing the game with 57 points. Fatigue wasn’t the issue according to coach Jasikevicius.

“I don’t think that we ran out of gas,” Jasikevicius said. “When the situation gets tough the coach goes with the players he’s comfortable with that created the situation that got us here. But you cannot say that we ran out of gas because if you look at the minutes of Panathinaikos players they are higher.”

Jasikevicius will have the offseason to build this team more to his liking, and some performances in tonight’s big game will likely hang in his mind as he makes difficult decisions over the summer. Panathinaikos advances to the championship as another Ergin Ataman era gets off to an incredible start.