Panathinaikos downs Efes in Game 5, 75-67, to reach Final Four
Baku, May 7, AZERTAC
Reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens advanced to the 2025 Final Four in Abu Dhabi after defeating Anadolu Efes Istanbul 75-67 to win their absorbing playoff series 3-2 and earn a shot at winning back-to-back titles, according to the official website of the Euroleague Basketball.
An effervescent Cedi Osman paced Panathinaikos on 28 points and 8 boards, putting his boyhood club Efes to the sword after an epic clash. Jerian Grant racked up 11 points and 8 rebounds and the regular season’s MVP Kendrick Nunn added 12 points for the hosts despite another poor shooting night.
At the other end, Elijah Bryant netted 16 points and Shane Larkin chipped in with 12 for Efes, but both visiting guards struggled as they combined for 8 of 26 from the floor, with Panathinaikos prevailing in the battle of the boards 50-35.
Panathinaikos raced into an early 10-3 lead but Efes quickly pulled it back to 12-10, setting the stage for a tight contest. What happened next was beyond the home fans’ wildest dreams as the Greens went on a whirlwind 24-3 run to lead 36-13 midway through the second quarter, with Osman unstoppable.
Efes refused to roll over and replied with a 0-13 streak to claw its way back into the game, hitting several deep threes after going seven minutes without a field goal in the wake of the ironclad Panathinaikos defense.
The home team led 41-30 at halftime on the back of 17 points from Osman and 8 from Nunn, who scored all of his first-half points during a brief second quarter spell when he was able to find some breathing space.
Panathinaikos was unable to profit from a barrage of offensive boards as Nunn was held to 4 of 16 from the floor throughout and Kostas Sloukas went 0 of 5, with Efes closing the gap to 47-44 late in the third quarter as the home side’s offense came to a halt.
However, Konstantinos Mitoglou came up with a huge buzzer-beating three at the end of the period to carve out a 53-46 advantage for the Greens ahead of the final 10 minutes, with Efes forced to play catch-up in vain for the remainder of the contest.
Larkin finally made a couple of shots from downtown to give the visitors a glimmer of hope as they slashed the deficit 65-61, but their fightback was vanquished after Grant hit a big shot off the glass to make the score 69-61 in the home straight.
Efes still refused to lie down but there was neither enough time nor gas in the tank for the Turkish outfit to turn the matchup on its head, as jubilant Panathinaikos players, staff and fans kicked off wild celebrations after a well-deserved victory.
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