ANKARA
Greek club Olympiacos toppled CSKA Moscow 70-68 in Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four semi-final game at Barclaycard Center in Madrid and advanced to the final in the tournament.
The Reds will play May 17 at 20.00 CET (1800 GMT) against the winner of the currently underway standoff between Fenerbahce Ulker and Real Madrid, while CSKA Moscow will compete in the third-place playoff against the losing side.
In Friday’s first semi-final match, CSKA were in front by three points after the first quarter, 20-17, and maintained a narrow 36-35 lead in the second.
In the third, Olympiacos tried to wrestle control, but CSKA did not let the Greeks take over, pushing the lead to 51-47.
In the final quarter, CSKA once again seemed to be at the helm of the game, but near the end Olympiacos began to fight back.
After a valiant effort put them within range of victory with two minutes to go (64-63), Olympiacos proved to be the side that played more efficiently in the last moments, winning the clash 70-68.
CSKA Moscow were unable to put an end to their curse against Olympiacos, who won against the Russians with a clutch winner hit by Greek power forward Georgios Printezis in 2012 Turkish Airlines Euroleague final in Istanbul.
Olympiacos guard Spanoulis scored 13 points, while Printezis tallied 14 points and eight rebounds. Another Greek guard, Kostas Sloukas, finished the game with 10 points.
Meanwhile CSKA Moscow's French guard Nando de Colo was the top scorer of the game with 18 points. He was followed by Russian center Sasha Kaun, scoring 11 points, while the Russian club's Serbian point guard Milos Teodosic contributed eight.
Meanwhile, CSKA guard Aaron Jackson set a new record in Euroleague Final Four history by making seven steals.
