Panathinaikos Athènes opened the regular season of the Greek basketball championship with a decisive home win over the Vikos Falcons, 103-74, in a match held without spectators this Sunday evening. The game featured a strong performance by three French players, with Mathias Lessort leading the way with 19 points, the highest score for his team. Guerschon Yabusele, named the most valuable player (MVP) of the game, added 14 points and 7 rebounds, while Sylvain Francisco contributed 12 points. Together, the three French players accounted for 45 of Panathinaikos’s 103 points. The trio of French players has already made an impact in the EuroLeague, showing strong form at the start of the season under the coaching of Zeljko Obradovic. After a year and a half of challenges, Mathias Lessort appears to be regaining his peak performance as autumn begins. The team dominated from the start, leading 32-20 after the first quarter. Although the Vikos Falcons managed to narrow the gap slightly to 36-26 at the start of the second quarter, Panathinaikos quickly regained control, extending their lead to 55-37 at halftime and 79-48 after thirty minutes of play. Before this match, Panathinaikos had already won its first three EuroLeague games. On September 24, against Paris Basketball, Sylvain Francisco scored 18 points, Lessort added 15, and Yabusele contributed 13 in a 91-72 victory. Francisco then scored 19 points in a 102-79 win against ASVEL on September 30, with Lessort adding 12 and Yabusele 9. Last Friday, Yabusele was the top scorer for Panathinaikos in a 90-67 win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv, scoring 17 points, while Francisco and Lessort added 11 and 7 points respectively. Across these three EuroLeague matches and the first day of the Greek championship, each of the three French players has at least once been the top scorer for Panathinaikos: Francisco against Paris and ASVEL, Yabusele against Maccabi, and Lessort against the Vikos Falcons. Until the debut of their compatriot Moustapha Fall, this trio appears to have established a solid position within the Athenian team.