Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce have both started the EuroLeague season with a perfect 3-0 record, sitting at the top of the standings with the two best defenses in the competition in terms of points allowed. Their head-to-head clash, however, is about much more than two unbeaten teams meeting: it is the first night of the season that will offer a real indication of how much we can read into everything we have seen so far.
Three rounds have been enough to create strong impressions, but not definitive answers. Panathinaikos have gone through their first three games in convincing fashion, beating Paris, ASVEL and Maccabi Tel Aviv 91-72, 102-79 and 90-67 respectively. Fenerbahce have also made it three wins from three, overcoming Virtus, Bayern and Dubai by scores of 78-68, 100-76 and 76-66. Now the two teams meet, and the conversation moves to another level.
Panathinaikos have shown that they can impose their style of play without relying on one single player to lead the way. Sylvain Francisco is the team’s leading scorer at 16 points per game, while Guerschon Yabusele is contributing 13 and Mathias Lessort is averaging 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds. At the same time, Mantzoukas has made the most of the opportunity he has been given and established himself as a meaningful part of the rotation. All of this becomes even more impressive considering that the Greens are still without Kendrick Nunn, Kostas Sloukas and Juancho Hernangomez, while Mustafa Fall and Nikos Rogkavopoulos are back in Zeljko Obradovic’s rotation.
Fenerbahce, meanwhile, have taken a different approach. They do not need to consistently put up big offensive numbers to control a game because their defense has quickly become their biggest weapon. They are allowing just 70 points per game, with Panathinaikos at 72.7. Marcus Bingham has emerged as one of the early surprises of the season, averaging 16 points per game, while Talen Horton-Tucker is contributing 13.3 and Wade Baldwin 12.8. At the same time, Sarunas Jasikevicius continues to build a team that wants to control the tempo and make every possession count.
Panathinaikos are averaging 94.3 points per game, compared to 84.7 for Fenerbahce. One team has shown greater offensive firepower so far, while the other has placed an even greater emphasis on control. Which side will force the other to play on its terms? The answer may prove to be more important than the result itself.
Last season, the two teams split their regular-season meetings, with the road team winning on both occasions. Panathinaikos came away with an 81-77 victory in Istanbul, before Fenerbahce responded with an 85-83 win in Athens. On Thursday night (October 8) at 20:15 CET, the stage returns to the Telekom Center Athens, where two 3-0 teams will meet, bringing together two defenses that have already dictated the pace of their games.
The Class of the Titans for Round 4 is here to offer the first real glimpse of which of these two unbeaten teams is simply enjoying a strong start — and which has already begun building something that could last much longer.
