After Panathinaikos, Olympiacos too! Greek basketball will have double representation in the final four in Berlin after Giorgos Bartzokas’ team defeated Barcelona in the decisive fifth match and stamped their ticket on Spanish soil. This will be the 13th final-four in the history of Piraeus and the 3rd in a row.
The “red and whites” entered the game very hesitant and found themselves losing 18-9 and 25-17 before the hungry Milutinov, combined with the fierce defense, brought them back into the game. The score at the break was 27-25 and at the beginning of the third period 31-30.
The failure of Piraeus and the many mistakes brought Barca to +8, but Walkap, Petrusef fired the counterattack: 38-36 and 40-40 with a three-pointer by Kostas Papanikolaou at the end of the 3rd period. Willy Hernangometh gave new impetus to the home team (47-42), but Olympiacos had not said its last word.
Shaquille McKissick’s long shot in the 35th minute brought the first lead: 47-49. He himself scored 49-54 with back-to-back baskets and Kostas Papanikolaou scored 49-57 with a three-pointer against his old team! The Spaniards again came within a shot (54-57), but a steal by McKissick, a nail by Milutinov, 2/2 shooting by Kanaan and a steal by Papanikolaou sent Olympiakos to Berlin.
Nikola Milutinov was the leader of Olympiakos with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Definitive Shaquille McKissic scored most of his 12 points in the final. Giorgos Bartzokas used Walkup 3, Williams-Goss 8, Kanaan 6, Papanikolaou 11, Peters 6, Petrusef 5, Fall, Wright 2. Giannoulis Larentzakis played despite his injury, but did not score.
For Roger Grimeau’s Barcelona, Ricky Rubio finished the game with 6 points, 5 steals and 4 assists. Laprovitola 17, Hernangomet 9, Abrines 13 also stood out.
Olympiacos will face the European champion Real in the semi-final. The “queen” eliminated Baskonia with an easy 3-0.
European champion in 1997 in Rome, in 2012 in Istanbul and in 2013 in London, Olympiacos has played in nine other final fours. It was defeated in the final in 1994, 1995, 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2023, while it “stumbled” in the semi-final in 1999, 2009 and 2022.
Fenerbahce, which will face Panathinaikos in the semi-final on Friday, May 24 in Berlin, also stamped its ticket earlier. Sarounas Jasikevicius’ team won in Monaco 79-80 in overtime (70-70), with two three-pointers by Nick Calathes in the final. In Fener, which became the first away winner in the 5th quarter-final, Giorgos Papagiannis and Tyler Dorsey also compete.
Panathinaikos yesterday sealed its ticket for the 12th final-four in its history on Tuesday night, with 81-72 over Maccabi, which made the final 3-2 in OAKA (Nan 26, Sloukas 15, Hernangomet 11, Papapetrou 10, Lessor 9). The “greens” return to the final four after 12 years.
Today it was announced that Kendrick Nunn’s contract has been renewed for another two years, with an NBA release clause. Kostas Slukas finished yesterday’s match injured and is undergoing intensive treatment in order to make it to the semi-final. The final four matches are scheduled to take place in Berlin on May 24-26.
#Barcelona #Olympiacos #Berlin #reds
