Olympiakos loses the Euroleague crown at the bitter end
Sergio Llull’s basket three seconds from the end broke the Reds’ hearts in the Euroleague final at Kaunas, as Real Madrid beat Olympiakos 79-78 on Sunday to win its 11th European crown.
Olympiakos and Real Madrid had been fighting it out for the top geo of the table throughout the regular season, and their battle went down to the last shot of the final game, only Kostas Sloukas missed the target allowing Real Madrid to lift the trophy.
The Greek champion was the better team in the first quarter, leading by up to 12 points (24-12). However the never-say-die character of the Spanish giant helped it bounce back and even lead by five (45-40) just before half-time, with the first half ending with a tie (45-45).
The second half was always close but with Olympiakos keeping the upper hand. The players of coach Giorgos Bartzokas had several opportunities to finish off Real Madrid, but their opponents kept coming back into the game and edged ahead just three seconds from the buzzer with the sole basket by Llull in the final.
Sloukas made a last-ditch effort but it was to no avail, leaving the Reds empty-handed despite being the favorites going into the game.
Sasha Vezenkov finished the game with 29 points, Isaiah Canaan made 21 and Shaquielle McKissic added another 14.
Besides the pride from such a great showing at the Kaunas Final Four, Olympiakos can also be proud of the 7,000 fans that followed it to the other side of Europe.
