FC Bayern Munich delivered one of its most complete performances of the season on Thursday night, defeating Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens 85-78 at a sold-out SAP Garden.
The result marked Bayern’s third straight home victory and lifted the German side to 8-14, while reinforcing its growing confidence under new head coach Svetislav Pesic.
Bayern entered the game focused on keeping matters close early, and that approach paid off as the contest remained within reach despite Panathinaikos controlling stretches of the first half.
The visitors produced the first significant run when Cedi Osman hit two three-pointers during an 11-0 surge that opened a 38-29 lead, though Bayern trimmed the deficit to 43-40 by halftime.
Panathinaikos regained momentum after the break and carried a 64-58 advantage into the fourth quarter after knocking down four triples in the third period.
That cushion disappeared quickly as Bayern tightened its defense and held the Greens scoreless for the first four minutes of the final frame.
A layup from Neno Dimitrijevic pushed the hosts in front 67-66, shifting the pressure firmly onto the visitors.
Justinian Jessup and Dimitrijevic followed with timely three-pointers, giving Bayern a 73-70 edge and setting the stage for a dramatic finish.
Andreas Obst then delivered the decisive blows, scoring seven of Bayern’s final eight points in the last 62 seconds.
Obst first finished a high-arcing layup to make it 77-74, then buried a triple from the top of the key over Richaun Holmes to extend the margin to six.
He capped the night with a deep three from the left wing with 33 seconds remaining, sealing the 85-78 victory.
Jessup led Bayern with 16 points, while Obst added 15 and Wenyen Gabriel chipped in 12 as the hosts showcased balanced scoring.
Pesic praised Obst’s patience after the sharpshooter attempted just eight shots following his recent 37-point outing against Baskonia.
Panathinaikos fell to 13-9 after dropping three of its last four games, despite Osman’s 20 points and 17 from Jerian Grant.
Kostas Sloukas recorded five assists to become just the second player in EuroLeague history to reach 2,000, joining Nick Calathes.
Bayern will host Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and Valencia Basket next week, while Panathinaikos returns home to face Baskonia before traveling to Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv.
