The women's basketball department of Panathinaikos prevailed at home in Hatay with 85-73 and achieved its second victory in the group and left Europe with its head held high.

The return of PAO after many years in Europe and in women’s basketball is considered successful, after it achieved the second victory in the group and showed that the jersey is always heavy abroad.

The “clover” prevailed in Hatay and showed that it can invest in this year for the future.

In the first period, Panathinaikos was very serious in the offensive part and thanks to the American triplet Holmes-Kaiser and Reed, they succeeded and were in front of the score.

In the middle of the first period she had a lead of 15-13 while in the second half of the period she continued at the same pace in the attack and improved her defense with the end of the period being 28-22.

During this time Holmes and Reed both scored eight points while Kaiser had 8 points.

In the second period, PAO came in again dynamically and although it did not have the same offensive momentum, it was even more careful in defense and increased the difference to 37-30 in the middle of the period. Offensively, he continued to rely on the same athletes.

In the second half of the second period, Panathinaikos found the way to the basket in every way and at the same time blocked its opponent in every way and the final score of the half was 53-35 with the American trio having completed almost all the points of the team.

In the third period, the defenses tightened, however, PAO managed to maintain the lead but the difference fell to 64-55 and finally ended with 66-57.

In the fourth and last period the “clover” PAO remained in the lead in the score in the middle of the season with 74-68. In the second half of the last period, PAO was serious, maintained the lead and finally prevailed with 85-73.

In a statement, PAO coach Eleni Kapogianni stressed “Our goal for tonight’s match was to play for our dignity and for our fans and to finish our European course in the best possible way.

We had a very good day aggressively and it was not accidental. We had worked very well against their belt and we had dealt with it a lot in training and that’s why this result came. It is no coincidence that the opposing coach was forced to change his defense. In the second half we were pressured as expected but we were held back.I congratulate my players for their appearance and for the fact that they largely followed what we told them from the bench even when they were tired. I dedicate this victory to our fans and we need them in view of the continuation “.

On the same wavelength was the statement of Sekoya Holmes who said “It was a very good way to complete our European presence. I believe that we fought all the matches and now we continue having gained valuable experiences and learning through our mistakes. We are now devoting ourselves to domestic events and our goals are the titles in Greece “.

Detailed Ten Minutes of the match: 28-22, 53-35, 66-57, 85-73

Panathinaikos (Kapogianni): Reed 28 (1), Lymoura 7 (1), Stack 4, Holmes 25 (4), Kaiser 21, Kotoula, Boudouri, Hatzinikolaou.

Hatay (Bass): Ellenberg 30, Gorini 11, Akbas 7, Gunay, Akgun 3, Octen 6, Brown 16 and Emirtekin.