By Stelios Toromanidis / info@eurohoops.net
Since 2001, the year Euroleague entered our life in its modern form, the playoffs system has changed quite a few times in order to optimize the product. The quarterfinals were first inducted to the product from the 2004-05 season onwards, first in the form of best-of-three, then in the form of best-of-five since 2009.
Up until the 2018-19 season, there have been 56 playoffs series, from which 15 teams have managed to grab a ticket to the Final Four through the years. Eurohoops picked the Top 10 series, based both on their exciting outcome and the level of difficulty for the teams that turned out to win the series in the end.
Panathinaikos – Tau Ceramica (Baskonia) 1-2
Season: 2005-06
Results: 84-72, 79-85, 71-74
Laboral Kutxa went through the best season of its EuroLeague presence with players like Scola, Splitter, Hansen, Erdogan and Prigioni and faced Panathinaikos, who had the homecourt advantage in the series. The Greens’ roster back in the day included Spanoulis, Diamantidis, Alvertis, Tomasevic and more, while one could argue they had a slight advantage in the series. However, Baskonia emerged in the second and third games to seal their second consecutive Final Four ticket in 2006.
MVP: Serkan Erdogan
The Turkish guard was the pillar for Baskonia in Game 3 and had a key contribution in crunch time with a pair of free throws to send his team straight to the Final Four.
Unicaja Malaga – Barcelona 2-1
Season: 2006-07
Results: 91-75, 58-80, 67-64
Malaga, under the guidance of Sergio Scariolo, completed its best EuroLeague run, which also resulted in its first and only Final Four experience. The team fought off fellow Liga Endesa competitors Barcelona in a series full of suspense, that ended with a 67-64 victory for Unicaja in Game 3. Pepe Sanchez emerged as the hero of the night for the hosts with a three-pointer with just 7 seconds to play, and Marcus Brown completed the run with a pair of free throws towards the win.
MVP: Marko Tusek
The Slovenian forward carried the offensive end for his team in both home games of Malaga, handing a Final Four ticket to his team
Maccabi Tel Aviv – Partizan 1-3
Season: 2009-10
Results: 77-85, 98-78, 73-81, 67-76
Maccabi had the advantage in the series, though Partizan emerged with enough will to grab their first Final Four ticket after 12 long years. Vujosevic’s squad played top-level basketball and managed to “break” through the series right from the first game, quite a surprise given the fact that Maccabi was in a more favorable position.
MVP: Dusan Kecman
His presence in the first game, in which Partizan got the win against all odds, earns him the title of the series MVP. Kecman was one of the most experienced players on the Serbian squad and helped his team rise from “underdogs” to Final Four contenders.
Barcelona – Panathinaikos 1-3
Season: 2010-2011
Results: 83-82, 71-75, 74-76, 67-78
Barcelona emerged into the series as the defending EuroLeague champion and also had the homecourt advantage, so the omens didn’t look all that good for the Greens. However, Zeljko Obradovic tapped Juan Carlos Navarro, Barcelona’s scoring ace, with the infamous “box and one” defense, with Nick Calathes playing a key part in this. The Greens fell in the first game by one point, yet managed to bounce back with three straight wins to enter the Barcelona Final Four.
There, they would win their sixth overall EuroLeague title, and their latest to date.
MVP: Dimitris Diamantidis
Nick Calathes might have stolen the show on the defensive end, though it was Diamantidis who dominated the series against the defending champions that year.
Barcelona – Panathinaikos 3-2
Season: 2012-2013
Results: 72-70, 65-66, 63-65, 70-60, 64-53
It was the second time in three years that Barcelona and Panathinaikos took on each other for a playoffs series. The Greens wanted to keep up their series of success in their first season after Obradovic‘s departure, while Barca hoped to seal its second straight Final Four presence. The motives were strong enough for both teams.
Panathinaikos won the second game in Spain, though Barcelona turned out to be the best team in this series, and achieved the “break” in OAKA in Game 4. It all came down to Game 5 back in Palau Blaugrana, where the hosts got the job done in the end.
MVP: Juan Carlos Navarro
Navarro’s offensive ability was the trademark in this Final Four qualification for Barca, as Panathinaikos struggled to contain the experienced guard.
Olympiacos – Montepaschi Siena 1-3
Season: 2010-11
Results: 89-41, 65-82, 72-81, 76-88
One of the most historic series in the competition’s history ended with a big plot twist in Siena’s favor! Olympiacos dominated the first game in Piraeus with a stunning 89-41 win, though the celebrations didn’t last long.
Siena regrouped for the second game and managed to take the series back home, counting three straight wins against the Greek team, while they advanced to their fourth Final Four.
MVP: Malik Hairston
His performance in the second and third game (31 and 32 PIR respectively) were more than enough to earn Hairston the MVP of the series honor.