Panathinaikos Athens overpowered ASVEL 102-79 at home on Wednesday, the second matchday of the 2026-2027 EuroLeague. The Greek side, the 2024 champions and heavy title favourites, delivered a performance reminiscent of their dismantling of Paris on the same floor a week earlier.
Despite missing Kendrick Nunn, Kostas Sloukas, Nigel Hayes-Davis, Juancho Hernangomez and Moustapha Fall, Panathinaikos still fielded a formidable line-up driven by a French trio. Guerschon Yabusele faced his former club, Sylvain Francisco came up against a side that had considered signing him in the summer, and Mathias Lessort relished another encounter with a French opponent. Their combined evaluation of 60 nearly matched that of the entire ASVEL squad, who finished on 61.
ASVEL, reshaped under Tony Parker, never recovered after falling behind. The Villeurbanne club has not won at Panathinaikos since 2021, when Elie Okobo and Victor Wembanyama were still in the roster. Assistant Pierric Poupet had warned before the game that the Greek side looked "monstrous on paper".
