The Turkish center had 27 points, 7 rebounds and 34 PIR to help the Greens finish with season highs in points (111) and assists (30)
Omer Yurtseven stepped up to lead Panathinaikos’s unstoppable offense
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Regular Season
Round 19 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens started the new year in great fashion as it rolled over the visiting Virtus Segafredo Bologna 111-90 in front of a sold-out OAKA on Friday night. It was the first home game after Mathias Lessort's serious injury, but the Greens have found the perfect replacement in the paint with Omer Yurtseven.
The Turkish center enjoyed his third start of the season – his second in a row – and repaid coach Ergin Ataman's faith with an amazing performance that broke many of his previous highs in the competition. He finished with 27 points in less than 28 minutes, also adding 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks for a total PIR of 34. His previous best marks in points, blocks and PIR were 16, 2 and 20, respectively.
“I feel good for the win and for contributing in a big way,” he celebrated after the game. “I was intentional about everything in the preparation and, you know, starting the game. Like you said, I was ready to go. So, I think that's what it took."
Yurtseven knew from the beginning that he had to step up for two reasons; first, to exploit Virtus’s absences in the paint (Toko Shengelia and Ante Zizic couldn’t play), and second, to make Lessort proud.
“Absolutely, absolutely. Shout out to him, and we also miss [Marius] Grigonis as well,” the Turkish center recognized. “Hopefully, he'll be back with us soon, but yeah, I think every game we are missing him."
Yurtseven was not the only one who had a good night as Juancho Hernangomez also had a great offensive performance with 16 points – 11 in the first quarter – right before the announcement of his contract extension, which came after the final buzzer. Kendrick Nunn scored 27 points, too, with 11 in a row in the last period to break the game apart.
Overall, Panathinaikos scored a season-high 111 points, the third time in a row that the current Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion has overcome the 100-point barrier in a home game. The Greens had 104 against Baskonia in Round 17 and 103 against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan two days before. This time, Panathinaikos dished 30 assists, which also marked a record in the current season.
“Altruistic is a strange word, but I would say yeah, we're pretty good teammates, sharing the ball and I think that just comes from wrapping it around," Yurtseven noted. "I think we all trust each other to make the shot, whatever the defense that the opponent throws at us. We just got to trust the next guy."
This win and this offensive explosion came on a night in which the OAKA crowd was out in full force, which created a great atmosphere that not only the players, but also the home coach, enjoyed.
“We started the new year with an amazing game. We started to show [why] we were the champions of 2024 and we started like a champion in 2025," Coach Ataman emphasized. “We played like a champion. [It was a] great atmosphere. I told before the game it’s not party time, it’s game time. Now at the end of the game, we can make a party until the next game."