Pitino guides Panathinaikos to triumph over CSKA

Santa Claus came from the US for the Greens, with coach Rick Pitino leading Panathinaikos to a home triumph over CSKA Moscow on Friday, after Olympiakos stumbled where it was least expected, going down at Darussafaka on Thursday.

Panathinaikos defeated Russian giant CSKA 96-84 in Athens, as the arrival of NCAA legend Pitino worked wonders for the Greens, switching their defeatism of the previous weeks into a winning mentality, with trademark pressure up and down the court and confidence in shooting.

A tremendous second quarter (36-18 partial) turned the 26-19 Q1 deficit into a 55-44 advantage for Panathinaikos at half-time. This margin gave extra confidence to the host who repelled the Russian team's fightback at 72-70 to take its lead up to 17 points just before the end (94-77).

The return to action of Ioannis Papapetrou also played its part, as the Greek forward...