Panathinaikos - AS Karditsas 78-64: "Outburst" in the fourth quarter and victory for the "Shamrock"
With Gerson Yabusele as the protagonist, Panathinaikos overturned the situation against them in the last ten minutes and prevailed over the combative Karditsas.
In the context of the 4th matchday of the Stoiximan GBL, Panathinaikos defeated AS Karditsas at Telekom Center Athens with 78-64. Despite the strong resistance of the visitors, who maintained the lead for most of the match, the "Greens" significantly increased their performance in the fourth quarter and achieved victory.
Even start and Karditsas' lead
The game started with the two teams matching each other in score. Konstantinos Mitoglou scored Panathinaikos' first points, while for Karditsas, Justin Turner and K. J. Jackson provided solutions from the perimeter. The first quarter ended with the hosts narrowly leading 19-15.
In the second quarter, the Thessaly team imposed its rhythm. With consecutive baskets from Jordan McRae and successful shots from Justin Turner and Nikos Gkikas, AS Karditsas took the lead and extended the difference, closing the first half ahead 39-31.
Host pressure and the big comeback
In the third ten minutes, Panathinaikos tried to close the gap with three-pointers from Gerson Yabusele and Isaac Bonga, but two consecutive successful three-point shots from Apostolos Roumoglou kept Karditsas ahead. The third quarter ended with the score at 50-56 in favor of the visitors.
The image of the game completely changed in the last quarter. Panathinaikos achieved an impressive partial score (28-8). With Gerson Yabusele as the protagonist, but also significant points from Kendrick Nunn, Mathias Lessort, and Brancou Badio, the "Greens" took the lead with 59-58 in the 33rd minute and fully imposed their rules until the final 78-64.
Match statistics
The top performer for the winners was Gerson Yabusele with 22 points, while Kendrick Nunn (12 points) and Isaac Bonga (10 points) also scored in double digits. For AS Karditsas, Justin Turner stood out with 14 points and Jordan McRae.
In the overall team statistics, Panathinaikos had 19/35 two-pointers (54.3%), 7/26 three-pointers (26.9%), and 19/26 free throws (73.1%), while also collecting 35 rebounds and committing 9 turnovers. On the other hand, AS Karditsas finished the game with 18/39 two-pointers (46.2%), 7/23 three-pointers (30.4%), and 7/10 free throws (70.0%), having 37 rebounds and 15 turnovers.