When it comes to basketball in Greece, and all of Europe, Panathinaikos is synonymous with domination.

Just once since 1998 have the Greens not won the Greek domestic title.

That happened in 2002, when AEK Athens interrupted Panathinaikos' string of championships.

Lithuanian great Sarunas Jasikevicius has been playing only in Euroleague games.

In the past three years alone, the Greens have won two Euroleague crowns.

(They also captured European titles in 96, 2000 and 2002)

Coming first is what is expected and usually, Panathinaikos delivers.

The club has a big budget and a committed fan base.

Most important, though, it has Obradovic and a super-talented squad of players who work just as hard as he does.

He's having to work as hard as ever right now to make it through a very tricky part of the season.

The team, disrupted by injuries to key big men, Greece international Kostas Tsartsaris and American Mike Batiste, has been licking its wounds after a home defeat to Partizan Belgrade in the very first game of the Euroleague Top 16 last week.

Panathinaikos struggled shooting the ball in that game, making just 12 of 28 inside the arc, seven of 22 beyond it and 14 of 24 at the free-throw line.

It was also second best on the boards, and that was a huge disappointment since it had been the focus of Obradovic before the game.

The loss of the rebounding battle was particularly surprising considering the absence of the injured Aleks Maric from the Partizan line-up.

The Serbian giants out-rebounded Panathinaikos 41-31.

Fourteen of the visitors' boards came off the offensive glass.

"They had three (offensive rebounds) in the first half and 11 in the second half and that was our biggest problem," Obradovic said.

"In addition, we played one of the worst offensive games ever. We were five of 15 on two-point shots, one of 12 on three-point shots and four of eight free-throws after half-time."

There were signs of recovery in the domestic clash against Olympia Larissa over the weekend, a game Panathinaikos took control of at the beginning and ended up winning 97-65.

But that was Olympia Larissa, and Obradovic knows much harder games await his team, including this week's Athens derby in the Euroleague against Maroussi.

If Maroussi win that game, they will celebrate as if they are champions of Europe.

"We tried to push, run and were successful getting easy points," Obradovic said of the Olympia Larissa game.

"We had 17 assists in the first half, which means that we passed the ball well."

Obradovic, with the memory of the Euroleague setback fresh in the mind, still wasn't entirely happy.

He cited, for example, his team's inefficiency at the charity stripe where they made just 18 of 26 free-throws.

"We missed eight free throws," he said. "It's a matter of concentration."

Obradovic also cringed over some of the missed shots from the floor.

"It's difficult to see players miss open shots, or to be afraid to shoot," he said.

Obradovic has been searching for answers and one of them right now is to play Lithuanian guard Sarunas Jasikevicius only in Euroleague games.

It appears to be a move to keep the veteran, who has had his injury problems, fresh for the rest of the Top 16. It's a competition he has excelled in during his career and this is where he's needed most.

"It is something I always say, that there is only one rule: The team," Obradovic said.

"These decisions are for the good of the group, and the player."