The best time for him is now. Olympic. WITH Monaco penultimate obstacle tonight (18.00) on the way to overcome it Euroleague for the 4th time in its history it becomes the absolute favorite for the 12th time in final four organization and has every reason to believe that he will return on Monday from Kaunas with a trophy in hand.

They were the most consistent team throughout the tournament, first in the standings, with variety in play, equally strong at home and away, and with a core of 4,000 fans on their side who drove all the way to Lithuania to become its 6th player and win platform battle.

If there is anything that the Red-Whites can worry about, it is that against them tonight they will face Monaco, the inexperienced Cinderella of the tournament and also the only team to have beaten them twice this year.

“It will be very difficult to do it for the third time, especially against the first in the standings,” said Mike James, while Sasha Obradovic added: “We are facing not only the best team of the regular season, but Barzoka, the head coach of the Euroleague, as well as Vezenkov, MVP of the tournament.

“The whole year is an award for my team. If we lose the trophy, it does not mean that our efforts will fail. Here all four teams are under pressure. But you should take it not as pressure, but as an opportunity to get what many players and coaches want to win,” Olympiacos captain Kostas Papanikolaou emphasized, while Giorgos Bartzokas had no problems competing in his 4th participation in the championship final striker and say: “I don’t let anyone in the team feel uncomfortable. We know that the best teams are here, the best coaches. It will not be a failure for anyone if they do not win the Cup, but we will do everything to succeed “.

Real with losses

In today’s (21:00) other semi-final, Barcelona will play Real Madrid in the Spanish Civil War, where Madrid will suffer heavy losses and play without Jabusele suspended after the fight between Madrid and Partizan, injured Decaux and Poirier suffered surgery for appendicitis. .

Pleasant surprise for Vezenkov

An original, funny and at the same time emotional way was chosen by the Euroleague to announce Vezenkov the title of this year’s MVP! All those present in the hall greeted him in masks … Vezhenkov and three of them, his parents and sister, approached him on stage and announced the news to him! “I didn’t know anything! I didn’t really pay attention to my sister, but when I turned around, I saw my father in a mask – he can’t hide! It was an emotional moment, and I will never forget it! It’s good, but we have work ahead,” said Olympiacos ace after receiving the award from Euroleague President Dejan Bodiroga. ), he was also the 1st scorer of the tournament, for which he was awarded the Alfonso Ford Prize.

11 Olympiacos matches in final 4

For a country that used almost every two years to see one of its teams take the Euroleague throne, 10 years without a crown seems like too much! As the Greens continue to refrain from this important date, the toss falls again on Olympiacos in its 12th Final Four. Let’s recall the 11 previous appearances of the Red-Whites:

• Tel Aviv 1994: After surviving the Greek Civil War against Panathinaikos (77-72), Giannis Ioannidis’s Olympiacos reached the final as the favorite against Zeliko Obradovic’s Badalona, ​​but Cornelius Thomson hit a three-pointer in dead time. “haunted” Olympiacos for many years.

• Zaragoza 1995: Olympiacos wins (58-52) in the semi-final against Panathinaikos for the second consecutive year. In the final, Real Obradovic easily won 73-61.

• Rome 1997: The third time finally turned out to be… poisonous! Under Dušan Ivković, Olympiacos easily dominated the final where they beat Barcelona 73–58 with David Rivers as the star.

• Munich 1999: Olympiacos reached the Final Four for the fourth time, but this time Olympiacos failed to reach the final. Easily defeated Žalgiris 87-71 in the semi-finals.

• Berlin 2009: Olympiacos again reached the Final Four after a 10-year absence, but this time they were defeated by Panathinaikos (84-82), who became European champions.

• Paris 2010: In the Palais de Bercy final, Navarro-led Barcelona won easily 86-68.

• Istanbul 2012: Olympiacos made history not only with their 62-61 win over CSKA Moscow in the final, but also with the way they beat them, 19 points behind in the 3rd quarter.

• London 2013: Back-to-back Euroleague win made a splash with Giorgos Bartzokas as the centerpiece. He confidently defeated (100-88) Real Madrid in the final at the O2 Arena.

• Madrid 2015: Olympiacos’ next meeting with Real Madrid took place two years later in Madrid. Her comfortable 78-59 final win earned her the 8th trophy in her history.

• Istanbul 2017: Giannis Sfeiropoulos took him to the Final Four for the second time (after Madrid) and Zeliko Obradovic interrupted his path to the title (also for the fourth time). In front of the home supporters, Fenerbahçe easily won the final with a score of 80–64.

• Belgrade 2022: Five years after the last attempt, Olympiacos again reached the Final Four. Misic’s three-point shot in the semi-finals brought victory – qualification (77-74) to Anadolu Efes.