Reds triumph at Barcelona to make the Final Four too
Olympiakos beat Barcelona in Spain on Wednesday and will join Panathinaikos at the Euroleague Final Four to take place later this month in Berlin.
The Reds upset the odds and won 63-59 to win the best-of-five-quarterfinal series 3-2 and advance for one more year to the competition’s showcase event.
Game 5 of the series took place under too much pressure for both teams for any quality basketball to be played. It is quite telling that Olympiakos only managed nine points throughout the first quarter (trailing 12-9).
Things improved for the Greek champion as the game went on, with Barcelona leading 27-25 at half-time and the match being tied at 40-40 after Q3.
The Catalans went ahead 47-42 early in the final quarter, but the players of coach Giorgos Bartzokas bounced back to score a partial 15-2, lead 57-49 and tip the balance in their favor for good.
Shaquielle McKissic paced the Reds with 12 points, with Kostas Papanikolaou adding another 11.
In Berlin’s semifinal Olympiakos will face Real Madrid, while in the other semi Panathinaikos will come up against Fenerbahce.
