The curse took hold again in Kaunas where Olympiacos lost 79-78 to Real Madrid in the Euroleague Final Four final. The Piraeus team failed to be crowned European Champions for the fourth time in its history, ten years since the last time (London 2013).
Giorgos Bartzokas and his players were denied by the reigning champions Real Madrid, who increased their trophies to 11 five years after the last one (2018), Sergio Jules, who scored the winning basket and his first points of the game with 3 seconds left, Sergio Rodriguez with 15 points and 9 assists and Final Four MVP Eddie Tavares with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Contributing to the Spanish team’s win over Olympiacos in the final were Mario Hezonja with 12 points and Fabian Cozer with 11 (3/5 3-pointers). With time “a sword of Damocles” over Olympiacos’ head, Kostas Sloukas took the last shot at 2” but was off the mark this time.
Olympiacos had taken a +12 lead (24-12) by making an ideal start with threes from Keynan and Papanikolaou, but Real Madrid imposed its rhythm in the 2nd quarter and took a +5 lead (40-45) and after 45-45 at half-time, the game was a thriller.
Although Olympiacos led by 6 (78-72) with 2:13” to go, from a two-point shot by Keenan, Sergio Rodriguez answered with 5 points of his own (78-77) and Jules became the “executioner” of Olympiacos. Season MVP Sasha Vezenkov was outstanding with 29 points and 9 rebounds for Olympiacos, while Isaiah Kanan scored 21 points on 5/6 threes. McCisick had 14 points.
Real Madrid became the first Spanish team to win the trophy after winning a classico in the semi-finals of the competition. In the five previous semi-finals between Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Euroleague, the winner had never won the title.
The quarters: 24-17, 45-45, 63-59, 78-79
Olympiacos started the final with Walkap, Kanan, Papanikolaou, Vezenkov and Fal. Real had Williams-Goss, Moussa, Hanga, Ediaye and Tavares in the top five.
With three consecutive threes Olympiacos “broke” the Real Madrid zone, right from the start, making an excellent start after the jump ball.
The first two by Isaiah Kanan and the third by Kostas Papanikolaou. Bartzokas’ players had come in with energy and were finding the open player with a good passing game. Vezenkov scored five straight points of his own to give Olympiacos a 5-point lead, 14-9, but on the next play, Fal was charged with his second foul after having a tough assignment against the ferocious Tavares and was replaced by Bolomboy. The Piraeus team’s +9 (19-10) from Keenan’s 3rd 3-pointer and Vezenkov’s 2-pointer soon turned into +12, as Papanikolaou hit a second 3-pointer and Vezenkov scored the next 2-pointer (24-12). The referees seemed more sensitive to fouls in favor of Real Madrid, with Olympiacos fans getting angry and shouting, especially after watching on replay the kneeing of Rudy Fernandez, who was called for a defensive foul and a foul on the Spaniard. Bolomboy was also charged with a second foul in less than a minute and the news was unpleasant for the Olympiacos forward line. It was Black’s turn to take his place at the 5 against Tavares, the beginning and end of the Spaniards’ game.
Oympiacos lose rhythm
All this had the effect of stopping Olympiacos’ rhythm, with Real Madrid reducing the score to 24-17. Madrid’s leading scorer in this 1st quarter was Tavares (1 foul) with 5 points, but also 5 rebounds. The Piraeus team, which had 7 assists and 0 turnovers, saw Vezenkov and Kanan have 9 points each and Papanikolaou had 6.
Olympiacos entered the second quarter with Slouka, McKisick, Papanikolaou, Vezenkov and Black. However, in that quarter, Real managed to bring the game back to its own level, with both teams going into a set game. With threes from Rodriguez and Hezonja and Tavares scoring 9 points (+7 rebounds), the queen tied the game at 29-29. Hezonja scored 10 points in the 2nd quarter for Real (12 at halftime), which went from -12 to +5 (40-45) after Kozer, Randolph and Musa hit Olympiacos from outside the 6.75 mark. The bad thing for Olympiacos was that their third big man, Tariq Black, was also charged with 2 fouls early on. The one who kept Olympiacos in the game was Vezenkov. The American guard scored 10 points in that span with 2/3 3-pointers and tied the game at 45-45 (halftime score).
Musa and Keenan each had a three-pointer for each team at the start of the 3rd quarter (48-48). Isaiah Kanan was emerging as a key player for Olympiacos, since with six more personal points of his own and a partial score of 9-4 for the “reds”, the Olympiacos team was ahead by +5, 57-52. The “battle” would remain close, as Rodriguez and Williams-Goss tied the game at 59-59. McCisick and Sloukas (63-59 3rd quarter score) answered, with Rudy Fernandez missing a three-pointer with time left.
Vezenkov scored five straight points to bring Olympiacos to +7 (68-61). However, the Spaniards had the answer from outside the 6.75 mark, every time Bartzokas’ players becam slopy.
Fabian Cozer hit a three of his own to keep Real alive (68-64). And after Sloukas and McKeishik made a 71-64 run, Cozer struck again, 71-67. The season’s MVP, Sasha Vezenkov also had a three-pointer in his pocket, 74-67.
Real Madrid turn the game around
Rodriguez brought the Spanish team to -4 (74-70). Several missed shots and turnovers on both sides followed, Rodriguez fouled Keenan on a shot attempt, with Chus Mateo receiving a technical for a protest. Vezenkov and Kanan each had 1 shot (76-70). Tavares answered 76-72 off Rodriguez’s 9th assist of the game, for a 78-72 lead off of Kainan’s 21-point effort! Sergio Rodriguez would not give up (78-74) with 2 minutes left. He also cut the lead to 78-77 with a three-pointer for Real Madrid at 46 minutes.
Mustafa Fall was off the mark with Tavares getting the rebound and Walkap fouling Rodriguez at 12 minutes. Bartzokas withdrew Slouka and Vezenkov, with Papanikolaou and McCisick coming in for defense. But it would eventually be Sergio Jules who would score the most crucial and incredible basket at the 3-minute mark, which was his first of the game (with a lob and Fal hiding the basket) with Real overtaking him at the line of scrimmage, 78-79. Sloukas and Vezenkov returned to the floor, with Sloukas taking the last shot from mid-range at 2 and missing. The ball ended up in the hands of Nigel Williams-Goss and Real Madrid was the 2023 European Champions… not Olympiacos.
Referees: Pukl (Slovenia), Vilius (Lithuania), Difala (France)
OLYMPIACOS (Giorgos Bartzokas): Walkap, Kanan 21 (5), Larenzakis, Fal, Sloukas 6 (1), Vezenkov 29 (2), Papanikolaou 6 (2), Bolomboy 2, Black, McKeishik 14 (2)
REAL Madrid (Chus Mateo): Williams-Goss 9 (1), Cozer 11 (3), Randolph 3 (1), Fernandez 3, Hanga 2, Hezonja 12 (2), Rodriguez 15 (2), Tavares 13, Yul 2, Ediaye 3 (1), Moussa 6 (2)
Source: AMNA
