The 13 year wait ended in style. Ergin Ataman cemented his legend in Euroleague coaching as his Panathinaikos outwitted and outplayed Chus Mateo’s Real Madrid to triumph in Berlin.
Ergin Ataman delivered a tactical masterclass in Berlin. The Panathinaikos coach never let the situation overcome him. The result was one where his side let Chus Mateo’s Real Madrid throw their best shots and then just kept coming back. In his first season at the helm of the Greens, he delivered the ultimate prize. A first Euroleague title in 13 years for the Greens.
Really?
Real Madrid got the tempo they wanted in the game’s opening minutes. It just didn’t come from a place anyone other than Chus Mateo was expecting. Eli NDiaye scored all of Real Madrid’s opening 8 points in a bizarre but brilliantly disguised solo outburst.
The type of game Panathinaikos needed against the defending Euroleague champions demanded a more deliberate pace. If this became a track meet, Los Blancos clearly had more legs than Ergin Ataman’s charges.
The Greens overcame that initial onslaught to make matters a touch more bruising. As they did, Dzanan Musa began to impose his presence on the offensive end for Real Madrid. He went on a mini 7 point run of his own, getting a sneaky steal off Kendrick Nunn along the way.
Rotating the threat
Once Musa had his fun, it was up the gut with Vincent Poirier for Chus Mateo’s men. When PAO decided to defend more on the interior, Facundo Campazzo was there from deep for Real Madrid.
Some early success from deep for the Greens were proving vital to Ergin Ataman’s side. A 15-11 quarter would have suited Panathinaikos, even on the losing end. Instead, that score was reached before the midpoint of the first and doubled before 9 minutes had been played. Mateo had a plan on how to win the Euroleague title. In the early going, it was being executed with ease.
The absence of Kostas Sloukas in the early going was obvious. The Panathinaikos captain was hurt coming into this event and played reduced minutes against Fenerbahce on Friday. He didn’t enter this game until 6 minutes had been played. Were he healthy, he’d surely have been on the floor either from the start or at least much earlier than he was introduced.
While PAO looked battered, Dzanan Musa was making his presence felt and then some in the Euroleague title game. By the end of the first quarter, he’d already racked up 10 points, 3 rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Viva Rudy Fernandez but…
In his last ever game in Euroleague, Rudy Fernandez showed just how much he needed this win. The veteran Real Madrid start made a steal that required him to leap into the courtside seats to deliver the ball to Guerschon Yabusele.
Contributing is what this season has been about for Fernandez. Against Panathinaikos, it was as a man who made the magic happen for others. A steal here, an assist there. Whatever it took to create an opportunity.
Yet the loyalty of Chus Mateo to his veterans was a bit too much in the second quarter. Real Madrid kept the combination of Fernandez, Sergio Llull, and Sergio ‘Chacho’ Rodriguez in for extended minutes. That slowed their pace and made their office a touch too predictable.
Rudy Fernandez of Real Madrid became the all-time leader in steals in the Euroleague Final Four in his final ever Euroleague game.
Mathias Lessort is not just a number
Finally, in the middle of the second quarter, Mathias Lessort unleashed the fury. Against a slower line-up for Real Madrid, the Frenchman went to work with his athleticism. Panathinaikos needed a burst and he delivered.
Banging hard at both ends, Lessort rallied the PAO players and cut the gap back to just a couple of possessions. It was a vital moment in the contest as it felt like the Greens were starting to settle for being off the pace.
As he soared, so too did the supporters of the Greens. Panathinaikos had brought the numbers to the Euroleague Final Four but they had been tamed by Real’s offensive explosion. With Lessort, they were given a reason to get rowdy.
Onward he charged and in the manner that made him most dangerous. Lessort averaged 6.6 fouls drawn per game all season. That was a full 1.1 more than the next closest to him. He was quickly racking up the fouls drawn in the second quarter.
Ergin Ataman doesn’t blink
The rally of Lessort came while Kendrick Nunn was sat. It would have been easy to keep the superstar seated until the half and allow Panathinaikos to grind. Ergin Ataman however knew that he needed to adjust ahead of Chus Mateo and Real Madrid.
Luca Vildoza and Nunn both delivered big shots, as did Jerian Grant, as the Greens showed they weren’t afraid of this game being a shootout. As they showed their calm, PAO moved this Euroleague championship game into more of a street fight.
As half-time neared, Real remained unphased. Their scoring rate had dropped from its historic first frame highs. Still, Los Blancos trusted the process. Back to back threes from Dzanan Musa and Facundo Campazzo gave Real some breathing room again. Still, at the break this felt like a fight that was far from done.
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Yet more Mathias Lessort
Mathias Lessort did what he does best to start the second half. He quickly drew fouls from Walter ‘Edy’ Tavares and Facundo Campazzo, bringing him to 5 total at that stage. It was turning the game into the slower, more deliberate, form that Panathinaikos favoured.
As the tempo switched, Panathinaikos moved in front for the first time all game. A Kendrick Nunn three brought the crowd to life once more. The Greens could sense that the battle, while beginning on Real Madrid’s terms, was turning in their favour.
Los Blancos were rocked. They had utterly unloaded on PAO and still the Greens were comfortably in the fight. Every loose ball, even with so much time left in the game, was turning into a prolonged fight. The pace of the Euroleague championship game was now exactly what Ergin Ataman wanted.
The dirge
This third quarter really was one for the purists. Real Madrid went through the first 6 minutes of it scoring just 2 points. Even when they eventually got Dzanan Musa to the line, he could only convert the 1 of 2 in order to end the scoring drought.
Avoiding the other team scoring became the out and out priority for both sides. Defensive basketball always has its merits but the Greens and Los Blancos were both essentially sacrificing all offensive relevancy in order to maximise their ability to cover back on the other end.
Mathias Lessort collected his sixth foul drawn of the night as Panathinaikos edged the mini battles that were occuring up and down the floor. Chus Mateo looked, for once, flustered on the sideline. With Tavares on 3 fouls and Vincent Poirier on 4, his battering tandem wasn’t going to be as big an option in the decisive stages of the contest.
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Finally a break for Real Madrid
Mathias Lessort had been the thorn in the side of Real Madrid throughout the rally of Panathinaikos. Early in the final quarter, the Frenchman picked up his fourth foul of the game. The master of making others err against him, was benched to be saved for any possible denouement duties.
This immediately opened up the inside game for a Real side that had been struggling awfully in the paint through the prior 15 minutes or so of game time. Los Blancos looked, once again, to have found a vital lifeline just as they did a year ago against Olympiacos.
Kostas Sloukas fought through the pain to come up big time and again for Panathinaikos in the Euroleague championship game against Real Madrid.
Finals are all about tension
Dinos Mitoglu was having none of that. Having been quiet all game, he picked his timing well. A three from Mitoglu forced Chus Mateo to call in the troops. Out of it, Panathinaikos continued to press and find ways to score. Next up to deliver was Jerian Grant, a three from him gave the Greens an unthinkable 9 point lead with 7 minutes left in the season.
Yet once more, Real rallied and Sergio Llull reminded everyone why the master of the mandarina is prone to pulling some magic out of the bag. His three pointer got the game back within a possession before Kostas Sloukas answered in kind.
The tactical battle had belonged to Ergin Ataman’s men up to now. For the final few minutes, it felt like whoever had more belief in the execution was going to come out on top. Mitoglu made the gap matter again and, once it hit double digits, the dream was there for Panathinaikos. After 13 years, a 7th Euroleague title was theirs.
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