Real Madrid convincingly defeated Olympiacos by 87:76 in the semifinal clash of the EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin.
It’s already known that Panathinaikos, who defeated Fenerbahce by 73:57, is in the final.
The defending champion opened the duel majestically. Mario Hezonja was ruthless from downtown, hitting three three-pointers in four minutes, contributing to the ‘royal club’ taking an eight-point lead. Excellent defense also helped, considering Olympiacos struggled to respond to the opponent’s size and seriously struggled to score. Dzanan Musa also caught fire, and that was just the beginning. It was unclear where the Madrid team would strike next. Defensively powerful and offensively unstoppable, they were already up by a huge 18 points after the first quarter.
Filip Petrusev scored five points in a row at the start of the second quarter, bringing a glimmer of hope to the Greek team, but Real Madrid quickly regained complete control. The total domination was rounded off by Vincent Poirier’s emphatic dunk, and Chus Mateo’s squad was already up by 20 points five minutes before the end of the first half. The lead extended to as much as plus 25, but towards the end of the second quarter, Shaquielle McKissic’s three-pointer reduced it to minus 19, giving Olympiacos some hope.
The red-and-white team seriously tightened their defense, not allowing Real Madrid to score for four and a half minutes, but it seems that during that time, they didn’t capitalize enough on the quality defensive sequence, although they reduced the deficit to minus 13. The most deserving of this was the fascinating Musa. He kept the Madrid team at bay with points plus fouls, as well as tough three-pointers, which kept the Spanish team at a safe distance. On the other side, Alec Peters was very noticeable. After offensive rebounds, he consistently hit three-pointers and at one point brought the team from Piraeus close at minus 10.
Olympiacos was pressing more and more, but they lacked strength as the game approached its end. Sergio Llull made some extraordinary plays, repelling the opponents’ attacks, who were increasingly distant from a close finish. Georgios Bartzokas‘ team had their chances. They had four possessions when they were down by 10 points, with five minutes to go, and when they didn’t capitalize on those opportunities, it became almost impossible to stage a comeback. And so it proved, as the defending champions earned the chance to defend their title by reaching yet another final.
The top scorers for the winners were Dzanan Musa with 20 and Mario Hezonja with 12 points. Alec Peters led the opposing team with 23 points.
The final between Real Madrid and Panathinaikos will be played on Sunday, starting at 8:00 PM.
Alec Peters scored 14 of Olympiacos' 21 points in the third quarter, but the Reds are still trailing by 13 points. pic.twitter.com/rVCehSDXSZ
— Basketball Sphere (@BSphere_) May 24, 2024
REAL MADRID – OLYMPIACOS 87:76 (28:10, 28:27, 15:21, 16:18)
Venue: Uber Arena
Referees: Radovic, Javor, Mogulkoc
Real Madrid: Causeur 4, Fernandez, Abalde, Campazzo 3, Hezonja 12, Rodriguez 8, Poirier 11, Tavares 7, Llull 9, Yabusele 11, Ndiaye, Musa 20
Olympiacos: Walkup 4, Williams-Goss 15, Wright, Canaan 7, Larentzakis, Mitrou-Long, Fall 2, Papanikolaou 3, Peters 23, Petrusev 5, Milutinov, McKissic 17