Olympiakos sweeps past Monaco and into the Euroleague final
Olympiakos has reached the final of the Euroleague beating Monaco 76-62 in the first semi on Friday in Lithuania.
The Reds owe their advance to Sunday’s trophy game to their amazing second-half showing that had its opponent completely frustrated.
Monaco’s performance was more like a joke in the third period, as it scored just two points against an irresistible Olympiakos that made 27.
The Piraeus team, that finished the regular season at the top of the Euroleague table but had to win Game 5 in the playoffs against Fenerbahce, struggled in the first half on Friday at Kaunas, with Monaco securing a 12-point advantage by half-time (41-29).
However Olympiakos bounced back in the third period with 14 unanswered points (43-41), as it took Monaco six minutes to score in the second half; this was its only basket in the third period, that descended into a farce for the Monegasques (56-43 for the Reds after Q3).
Then Olympiakos preserved its lead in the final quarter, as Monaco was unable to utilize its biggest weapon, US guard Mike James, who made just four out of 14 field-goal efforts.
Leading the Greek champion was the season’s MVP, Sasha Vezenkov, with 19 points, followed by Kostas Papanikolaou with 15.
In Sunday’s final Olympiakos will face the winner of the second semifinal, between Barcelona and Real Madrid that is taking place later on Friday at Kaunas.
