By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Whether in the form of a best-of-three series (2005-08) or the best-of-five (2009-today), a playoff game can become the most-remembered event from an entire season. And when a game is decided with the final shot, it overflows with that playoff magic. Eurohoops chose five magical moments that are fixed in time.
Let the countdown begin… 3, 2, 1…
History in the making
The result of their series was going to send a Spanish team to the 2007 Final Four. But which one? Unicaja Malaga or FC Barcelona? With the two teams having split the wins in the first two games of the series (91-75, 80-58), Malaga was the last stop before Athens. The ball looked heavier this time compared to the previous games; the score at Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena was low and, as time went by, it looked like the win and qualification were going to be decided by a detail, a single shot. Bullseye! It came from Pepe Sanchez.
The Argentinian guard’s three-pointer from the left side 7.7 seconds before the end (65-62) didn’t leave Barcelona any room to react as Unicaja made history with a 67-64 victory and a 2-1 series win. That was Unicaja’s first – and to date only – time reaching the Final Four.
One… first last time
Universal Sports Hall CSKA was always inhospitable to most of CSKA Moscow’s rivals and not even a double-digit lead could guarantee a win. Except for Olympiacos Piraeus in the opening game of the playoffs in 2008.
Olympiacos led by 8 with four minutes remaining before CSKA rallied to tie the game at 74-74. With 15.1 seconds led until the end of regulation time, Lynn Greer stepped up for the Reds. Nikos Zisis’s foul 7.3 seconds before the end interrupted Olympiacos’s final offense, but after that, there was no stopping the American guard, who buried the game-winner from the top of the key as the game expired for a 74-76 win and 0-1 series lead. That was CSKA’s first – and to this day, only – home defeat in the playoffs.
Second time’s the charm
The home-court advantage is always important on the road to the Final Four and Caja Laboral had it in 2011. Maccabi Tel Aviv didn’t, but it was hungry. The way Game 2 was going at Fernando Buesa Arena seemed ideal for Maccabi to do just that and Jeremy Pargo was its go-to man.
After a defensive rebound 19 seconds before the end, Pargo brought the ball up the court, used a crossover dribble from the right side to free himself up and nailed a jumper for an 81-83 edge with 1.3 seconds to go. That was the first of three Maccabi wins on the way to the Final Four in Barcelona.