Olympiacos and Real Madrid to fight for 2013 Euroleague title
As a sort of surprise, Olympiacos Piraeus and Real Madrid qualified to Final game of 2013 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final four in O2 Arena in London, England.
Oh well, maybe not surprise for all Basketball fans in Europe, but since I predicted that we will watch FC Barcelona Regal and CSKA Moscow in Final, surprise for me at least.
In Semifinal Game 1, Olympiacos Piraeus stormed CSKA Moscow and easily booked its ticket to Final game. All we expected much much more from Russian powerhouse.
The Reds never trailed after the first quarter and led by double digits throughout the second half. So, Olympiacos will target its third continental crown against Real Madid in the title game on Sunday.
Big disappointment for all CSKA Moscow fans since honestly CSKA had no chance in this game, against more than ready players of Olympiacos.
Kyle Hines paced a balanced Olympiacos attack with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Pero Antic added 13 points for the winners and seven other players netted between 5 and 8 points.
Newly crowned bwin MVP Vassilis Spanoulis, who tallied 8 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists to reach his third final in as many Final Fours.
In Semifinal game 2, we saw much better game as two archrivals face each other. Real Madrid wins over FC Barcelona Regal, even Barcelona had its chances.
Second and last quarter were crucial for Real Madrid in this game, and deserved ticket to Final game against Olympiacos Piraeus at Sunday.
Reyes finished with 17 points in 19 minutes. Sergio Llull, who scored 11 second-quarter points after Madrid fell behind early, finished with 13. Sergio Rodriguez tallied 13 points and 9 assists – he was 1 assists away from a Final Four semifinals record!
So, big Final game at Sunday will bring us new excitement as Olympiacos Piraeus and Real Madrid will fight for 2013 Euroleague title. Final game will start at 21.00 CET at Sunday.
In game for third place, CSKA Moscow will face FC Barcelona Regal same day at 18.00 CET, even I am sure that both teams are badly disappointed and frustrated after defeats in semifinal game.
However, at Sunday we will have 2013 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Champion, and this season in Euroleague will be finished.