By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Vasilis Spanoulis saved the best for last! After starting the game with 0/11 shots in the first three quarters, he finished with 13 points, 11 of them in the last four minutes, and once again “killed” CSKA in the Euroleague semifinal, leading Olympiacos to the 70-68 win.
Like in Istanbul back in 2012, Olympiacos made a huge comeback from 61-52 in the last quarter, got a 66-64 lead over CSKA and when the Russians tied the score at 66, “devilish” Spanoulis with 6 second to go hit the biggest three of the night (69-66). The two teams exchanged free throws in the remaining time and the game was over.
The first half ended with CSKA having a 36-35 lead with Nando De Colo and Aaron Jackson leading the way. Printezis with 11 points and Ioannis Papapetrou with 9 points were the best Olympiacos had to offer, while Spanoulis already had 0/8 shots.
In the third quarter CSKA with a 8-0 run thanks to the same back court duo got even an eight points lead (47-39). Still after 30 minutes of action with Teodosic making his first basket CSKA was leading by four (51-47). The Russians led even by nine points (61-52) but Olympiacos had the last word. De Colo finished the game with 18 points and Jackson with 7 steals registered a new record for a Final Four game, but it was not enough.