Efes with the sound of a siren to victory
Nevermore Greeks in the Belgrade Arena and never more disappointment! Helen’s glorious days are remembered and in 2005, when the full stands won the second title of European champion. Olympiakos had a chance to reach the fourth crown of the club champion at the Euroleague Final Four in Belgrade. More than 10,000 spectators in the red were left without the desired final. In the end, we didn’t even win first-class basketball. We will remember only the result.
Ergin Ataman’s shooting squad is stronger than the home atmosphere and the team spirit of Olympiacos. Something more is needed here. Shane Larkin, Vasilije Micic, and their punitive expedition – 77:74 (18:21, 24:22, 24:20, 11:11). Efes is chasing their second Euro title in fifth participation in the Euroleague Final Four. Only Maccabi Tel Aviv (2004, 2005) and Olympiacos (2012, 2013) managed that in this century.
Micic hero
The Piraeus fire was burning until the end of the game. Then Vasilije Micic appeared to put it out with a triple with the sound of a siren! What a way to put an end to the dramatic semifinals! Micic took full responsibility. He waited until the moment when the opponent had no time to fight back, and – hit! He returned to his half of the field, fell to the floor. Vasa waited for his teammates to come into his arms. The blue ones jumped in ecstasy and celebrated. The others clung to their heads because they couldn’t believe what had happened to them…
Last year’s MVP and this year’s Euroleague top scorer were close to a double-double performance. In the end, he had 15 points (5/16, 4/11 for three), nine assists, and six rebounds. Larkin had a great night with 21 points (6/18, 4/12 for three). He hit all four of his threes in the first half. Elijah Bryant had a big role from the bench with 16 points (4/6 for three), while the hardened Bryant Dunston once again showed that he is not for scrap metal with 12 points. In Olympiacos, 12 points from Shaquielle McKissic, Tyler Dorsey, Kostas Sloukas (6as) and Hassan Martin had less points, while Kostas Papanikolaou added 10 points.
Epic El Clasico in Belgrade
Real survived Barça with nine lives. The epic El Clasico in Belgrade ended with a great victory for Real Madrid in a thriller that will be retold for a long time! These Blancos have nine lives, because they survived Barcelona and the index of 39 newly proclaimed MVP Nikola Mirotic for placement in the new Euroleague final, second in the capital of Serbia – 86:83 (19:19, 15:26, 26:11, 26:27) . Pablo Laso wanted a rainy script, and he got it. A special connection is being created between Real and Belgrade, there is no doubt about that anymore. Even if they lift the trophy on Saturday night, Real’s basketball players will be able to say with full right that this is their second favorite place in the world. But, not to go too far with the thoughts, the Madrid great will have to beat last year’s champion first.
They were probably expecting Barcelona in Efes as well, everything pointed to the replay of the final from Cologne after 25 minutes of the game, but then the team of Sarunas Jasikevicius simply stopped and gave the angry rival not only the opportunity to rise from the knockdown and fight back, but to do something not seen for a full ten years. Namely, the last time a team had a double-digit advantage in the Final Four at halftime and then suffered a catastrophe was CSKA Moscow against Olympiacos in the final played exactly a full decade ago. Then, the Army had 14 points more after 20 minutes of play, and you know the rest … Georgios Printesis happened, who most likely played his last Final Four tournament in his career tonight …
Causer great again
The man who feels at home here is Fabien Causeur! Together with Luka Doncic, the French national team player was a key figure in winning the title in 2018 at this same place, and tonight he was the driving force behind Real’s turnaround, which was confirmed by Sergio Llull and Guerschon Yabusele in the new drama. Causeur scored 14 of his 18 points in the last quarter, including five important points two and a half minutes before the end, which took Real to +5 (80:75).
Llull finished with 15 points and seven forced fouls. Yabusele, as one of the most dominant figures in the game, had 18 points with 4/6 for three and eight rebounds. Nikola Mirotic was in front of everyone for the spear. The new Euroleague MVP played statistically probably the biggest game of the final tournament of this century. His 26 points, four threes, 12 rebounds, five assists and two stolen balls for a usefulness index of 39 were not enough for Barcelona to celebrate victory. Laprovitola collected 17 points, but after 11 in the first half, he did not move on until the last quarter. Brandon Davis scored 15 points, with five rebounds.