In all the Euroleague playoff series, with the exception of the confrontation between Real and Baskonia, serious passions raged. In the pairs Panathinaikos – Maccabi Tel Aviv, Monaco – Fenerbahce and Barcelona – Olympiacos, the total was reduced to seven matches. But now we know all the participants in the Euroleague Final Four. Spoiler: there were some surprises.
Watch Euroleague basketball exclusively on Okko.
Let’s start with Real Madrid. The current Euroleague champion swept Baskonia in two home games: 90:74 and 101:90, having problems only in the away game. But Gershon Yabusele’s excellent performance in the third game (23 points, seven rebounds and three assists) helped Real Club win 102:98 and close the series with a score of 3-0. Real Madrid was the first to reach the Final Four and waited a long time for the teams that would join the club in the fight for the coveted Euroleague trophy.
Seventh-seeded Maccabi put up a serious fight against Panathinaikos, which finished the regular season in second place. The Israeli club won the opening match of the series, then lost the next two, but managed to bring the matter to a decisive match, taking the fourth game. In the final confrontation, the first half was equal: 41:41, but in the second half of the match, Panathinaikos, thanks to the support of the stands and quality play, achieved a difficult, but at the same time, secure victory by 81:72. Kendrick Nunn, Kostas Sloukas and Mathias Lessor stood out for the Greens.
For its part, Maccabi had one of its leaders, Lorenzo Brown, who played the best throughout the series. It is a pity for the Israeli team, since probably its main superstar, Wade Baldwin, played fully only in the first game of the series, and also appeared for a few minutes in the fourth. Perhaps the outcome would have been different if Baldwin had been healthy. But nothing can be done, Panathinaikos is in the Final Four.
Passions in the series:
Protests, demands for game postponement and referee errors. It’s very hot in the Euroleague playoffs
Monaco and Fenerbahçe then patched things up. There were also five games here. In the decisive match, the teams failed to identify the strongest team during regulation time. It was time for overtime, where Monaco led 77:74. Fenerbahce attack, Nick Calathes puts the ball in the corner and hits from the three-point arc (77:77). Subsequently, Monegasque leader Mike James came into play and scored a two-point shot. Sarunas Jasikevicius’s team has very little time left to attack, and after a defensive confusion on the part of James, the former CSKA player did not have time to cover Calathes, who once again scored a triple.
80:79 in favor of Fenerbahce and Monaco still has time for the last attack. The ball is in the hands of Eli Okobo, who already seemed to have overlooked everyone, but then Calathes jumps and takes the ball out of the Monegasque guard’s hands. The Turkish club achieved a difficult victory and advanced to the Final Four. This is what Jasikevicius said immediately after the match: “The series was absolutely crazy. Absolutely abnormal, except for the fourth game. Each game was played until the last possession of the ball. Absolutely crazy episode.”
The hero of the match, Kalathes, could not help but speak, who first spoke about James, and only then highlighted the work of Jasikevicius: “He [Джеймс] An incredible player and I would be very surprised and disappointed if the Euroleague didn’t give him the MVP award because he deserves it for what he did with this team. What a job as a coach. The coach came, it wasn’t his team, and he made us a team. He’s a big reason we made it to the Final Four.
Fans clash with Monaco players:
The fans went crazy, Mike James got angry and got a fine. They put on a “spectacle” in the Euroleague playoffs
Let’s move on to the confrontation between two giants: Barcelona and Olympiacos. As you already know, the series between the Spanish and Greek clubs has reached its fifth match. The first quarter set the tone for the entire game. With the score 12:9 you can see how the teams fought for every ball and did not give up on defense. Barça, in front of the local stands, finished the first half with a slight advantage (27:25), but gave quite sensational results in the third and fourth quarters (13:15 and 19:23). Olympiacos, led by Georgios Bartzokas, reached the Final Four for the third consecutive time.
In the fifth game, Jabari Parker, who played one of the main roles of the Milwaukee Bucks, showed a terrible performance. The forward scored just four points, making just two of 13 field goals. However, Ricky Rubio, who recently retired from the NBA, and Tomas Satoransky, who previously played in the North American League for the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls, did not particularly shine. The Spaniard scored six points and the Czech 0 points in the scoring column, but captured eight rebounds. That is why former NBA players cannot always “decide” in the Euroleague.
The ending of one of the matches definitely deserves attention:
Fan confusion and referee scandal. “Barca” and “Oli” starred in a thriller in the Euroleague
It is clear that they are not outstanding players, but, one could say, “fallen pilots”, but this does not negate the fact that not everyone gets along in the Euroleague. In Europe you have to work from start to finish and participate in combinations. You can’t just stay in the corner, like in the NBA, thus stretching the court and leaving space for one of your teammates to pass. Here you have to prove yourself, and not many can cope with the pressure of the stands.
It was very hot in the EuroLeague playoffs. Three episodes after which all the words disappear! In the Final Four, Real Madrid will face Olympiacos on May 24 at 7:00 p.m. Moscow time, a repeat of last year’s draw decider, where the fate of the title was decided on the last possession, and Sergio Llull realized his decision. -Shot blowing in the last seconds. Panathinaikos will face Fenerbahce on the same day, but already at 22:00 Moscow time. The teams met twice in the regular season with each club winning once. The confrontation should be no less interesting than the battle between the Spanish great and the Greek. The Final Four will be held in Berlin from May 24 to 26. Very soon we will meet the Euroleague champion!
