Panathinaikos steamrolls by Zielona Gora into Top 16!

Panathinaikos Athens soared into the Top 16 and avenged an earlier defeat by blasting Stelmet Zielona Gora 82-51 at home in Athenson Friday. With its third consecutive victory, Panathinaikos raised its Group C record to 5-4, good for a third-place tie with Zalgiris Kaunas, its opponent in the regular season's final game next week. Panathinaikos got 18 points and 7 assists from Nick Calathes, while James Gist scored 14 points and Vladimir Jankovic 10 for the winners. Zielona Gora got 11 from Mateusz Ponitka, all of which he scored in the first quarter. Zielona Gora, which needed to win to survive, fell to 2-7 and will pass after the new year into the Eurocup Last 32. Panathinaikos broke open a close game after one quarter with a 56-24 run between the start of the second and the middle of the fourth.

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