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Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv were close to the win, but in the end they suffered a 75-76 home defeat against Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens in a match from the 28th round of the Euroleague.

This loss is a huge hit to Maccabi’s hopes of reaching the playoffs. Meanwhile Panathinaikos boosted their own chances of a Top 4 finish in the regular season, although they still have some work to do in order to achieve this.

It was a dramatic night in Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv. Just one point separated the two teams, with Mike James being instrumental for Panathinaikos with a career high 27 points scored. He also scored the winning points in the match, just 5.8 seconds before the final bell. It was a really huge night for James, that’s for sure.

In this way Panathinaikos improved to a 17-11 record, which will help them in the battle for a Top 4 finish and a home ground advantage in the playoffs. Meanwhile Maccabi Tel Aviv fell to a 13-15 record, which means that they are already eliminated from the competition. If they have won this game, they would have chances to qualify in the next match against Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz.

It was not just Mike James who delivered a great performance for the Greek team. Ian Vougioukas was also on fire in Tel Aviv, adding 16 points for the win, coming off the bench. Meanwhile Nick Calathes also shined with 10 points and 4 assists for PAO.

For Maccabi Tel Aviv it was a good night for DeAndre Kane, but his 19 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists was not enough to avoid losing. Norris Cole added 14 points for the home team, while Alex Tyus finished the game with 10 points for Maccabi Tel Aviv.