The Greek guard made his presence count as the Greens reached the championship game
Kalaitzakis made all the right plays on the biggest stage
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3 Mins read
The history of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four has taught us that we should expect unsung heroes. On Friday evening, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens guard Panagiotis Kalaitzakis fit that exact description with his performance in the Greens' 73-57 semifinal victory against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Berlin, Germany.
Kalaitzakis finished with 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 drawn fouls and a PIR of 11. In fact, he was one of five Panathinaikos players who recorded a double-digit PIR.
What's more, the large majority of his production – and all 5 of his points – came in the final 50 seconds of the third period and the first 54 seconds of the fourth quarter. Those points came as a part of a 9-0 run which the Greens used to finally pull away.
In the biggest moment of his career, the 25-year-old Kalaitzakis nailed a catch-and-shoot triple late in the third, his only field goal attempt of the night, to make it 56-50, then had an offensive board which he followed up by making both free throws and opening a 60-50 margin.
"It is about work," Kalaitzakis said after the game. "I work really hard for this one shot, and I am glad today it went. It was a great pass from Jerian [Grant]."
That's in addition to his trademark aggressive perimeter defense on opposing guards, which is what helped Panathinaikos hold Fenerbahce to 57 points and just 7 in the fourth quarter, in which Kalaitzakis played 5 minutes and 52 seconds.
Making such a crucial impact with his team's season on the line was nothing new for Kalaitzakis.
The Panathinaikos guard had several big plays in a do-or-die Game 4 of the playoffs against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, playing the final 60 seconds of that crucial road game. He then followed it up with 13 minutes of action in Game 5, where he had 2 points and 2 steals and kept making defensive pressure on the perimeter.
Kalaitzakis says that his job is, actually, an easy one.
"I don't have pressure, there are a lot of guys on my team that have pressure," Kalaitzakis told Euroleague.net after the win on Friday. "I am talking about [Kostas] Sloukas, Kendrick [Nunn], Mathias [Lessort], our main players. I don't have pressure, just have to enter the game and energy 2, 3, 4, 5 minutes.
"That is what I do and so far, so good. I am happy I am helping my team, and we have one more to go."
That one will be on Sunday, a championship game with EuroLeague glory on the line.