Andrea Trinchieri and the Salonikų PAOK secured a dominant 79-56 road victory against Botevgrado Balkan on Tuesday evening, lifting their Eurogroup standing to five wins and two losses.
Coming off the bench, veteran Lithuanian center Donatas Motiejūnas made the most of his limited time on the floor. He scored 11 points in just 9.5 minutes of action, recording his most productive outing since joining the Greek club.
Motiejūnas shot efficiently by hitting his sole two-point attempt, two of three shots from beyond the arc, and three of four free throws. According to reporting from O, Sportas!, the big man added three rebounds, one assist, and drew three fouls while committing only a single personal foul without turning the ball over. His 15 efficiency rating marked his highest evaluation total since joining the team.
The visiting side established control early and broke the game open during a decisive second quarter where they outscored their opponents 34-20, following an opening period that ended 19-12.
The second half continued in the same fashion with scores of 19-9 and 7-15. The opening half closed with PAOK comfortably ahead, and they never relinquished their grip on the contest despite playing without prominent star Cedi Osman, as noted by Eurobasket.
Breein Tyree led all scorers for the visiting squad with 25 points, shooting 4 for 6 on two-pointers, 4 for 8 from three-point range, and 5 for 6 at the line, while also collecting 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 23 efficiency points in 22 minutes. Marcus Foster added 12 points, Nazas Mitrou-Long contributed 8 points, and Nikos Chougkaz scored 7 points.
Team floor general Nick Calathes dished out 8 assists in 17 minutes of play. On the opposing side, Javante McCoy paced Botevgrado with 18 points alongside 5 turnovers, while Sukhmailas Mathonas contributed 11 points and 6 rebounds for an efficiency score of 19.
With this victory, the Greek side finished the first round of the EuroCup regular season securely in second place within Group D. Andrea Trinchieri’s roster will return to cross-border competition on November 18, when they travel to face Manresa BAXI.
