Panathinaikos survive thriller against Baskonia: Francisco and Lessort overcome resilient visitors

From the opening tip-off, it was a fiercely contested battle with both teams trading blows, sending Panathinaikos into halftime with a narrow 43-40 lead. The hosts stepped up the tempo in the third quarter to build a nine-point cushion (63-54), but Baskonia refused to back down. The visitors clawed their way back early in the fourth quarter and edged ahead to make it 69-70 with six minutes remaining.

The clash headed into a dramatic finale tied at 79-79. In crunch time, Sylvain Francisco stepped up with a clutch three-pointer before Guerschon Yabusele added late points to ice the game, sealing an 85-79 victory.

Mathias Lessort paced the winning side with 20 points and six rebounds, closely supported by Nigel Hayes-Davis, who contributed 18 points and seven boards. Kendrick Nunn also reached double figures with 11 points, while Sylvain Francisco recorded a double-double of 10 points and 11 assists.

For Baskonia, Matteo Spagnolo stood out with 16 points and four assists, Stefan Joksimović added 13 points and three assists, while Klemen Friš finished with 11 points.

Following this result, Panathinaikos hold top spot in the standings with a 6-1 record, while Baskonia remain rooted near the bottom at 1-6.

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