Monaco vs Panathinaikos: Winner Secures Home Advantage in Playoffs

Just two rounds before the end of the regular Euroleague season, Panathinaikos faces Monaco away (20:00, Novasports Prime) in a game with significant playoff implications. Unlike Olympiacos, Panathinaikos has yet to secure home-court advantage for the Euroleague playoffs or even guarantee their presence in the playoffs. They need a victory against Monaco or Red Star (at home) to secure home advantage. The loss to Paris at OAKA hurt Panathinaikos, who now must deliver double efforts in Monaco. Vassilis Spanoulis’s Monaco ‘showed its teeth’ previously against Olympiacos, winning 80-77 at SEF. Panathinaikos and Monaco are tied with records of 20-12, and Ergin Ataman and his players aim to prevent Monaco from achieving back-to-back victories against them. Panathinaikos averages 87.7 points per game, while Monaco scores 86.8 points on average. Defensively, Monaco concedes 82.9 points per game, compared to Panathinaikos’ 83.5. Players like Ioannis Papapetrou, Matias Lessort, and Marius Grigonis remain sidelined for Panathinaikos, alongside Dimitris Moraitis, who stayed in Athens. The referees for the Monaco-Panathinaikos match will be Miguel Angel Pereath (Spain), Jordi Aliaga (Spain), and Kristaps Konstantinovs (Latvia). The Euroleague’s 33rd round schedule includes games such as Barcelona vs Fenerbahce, Zalgiris Kaunas vs Partizan, and Real Madrid vs Paris among others.