Olympiacos’ qualification for the Kaunas Final 4 (19-21/5) was the culmination of an amazing Euroleague season this year, and in ten days we’ll find out if the Piraeus team will add a fourth star to their jersey, ending their triumph.

Unlike last year’s Belgrade, where taking fourth place, they confirmed the title of outsider, this year the “red-white” are the title of favorite. acceptance of friends and foesbeing the most stable team in the regular championship of the competition.

Against Fenerbahce in the play-offs, although the series reached the fifth game, was awarded a fair qualificationplay the best and most balanced basketball.

Last season was actually a transitional one for Olympiacos. In the first year without his former captain and “legend” of European basketball Vassilis Spanoulis, but with leaders Giorgos Printezis and Costas Papanicolaou out of two titles (2012, 2013), managed to return to the final four, relying on pluralism and polyphony, on his defense, but above all on the team spirit that Yorgos Bartzokas instilled in his players.

This year, having kept the previous squad and further strengthened its squad, Olympiacos emphasized the team efforts and the individual qualities of its players to the maximum.

58 year old technician will be found for fourth time in his career in the Final Four Euroleague.

He achieved this three times as Olympiacos coach. The first, in 2013 in London, led to him winning his third and final title (1997, 2012, 2013) and the second was last year in Belgrade. It happened in London in 2013 first Greek coach in history, which won the title of the main European interclub basketball event. In 2016, he reached the Final Four as a coach of the Russian Lokomotiv-Kuban, finishing 3rd at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin.

Rome, City and London three “stars”

Fast forward from Tel Aviv in 1994, when Olympiakos made their first appearance in the Final 4, to the upcoming one in Kaunas, The red-whites have won three titles in 29 years.

The first one came to Rome in 1997 against Barcelona (73–58) after two failed attempts (1994, 1995). 2nd in Istanbul in 2012 marked by an epic -19 defeat against big favorites CSKA Moscow (61-62) with Dusan Ivkovic on the bench. V London in 2013 the title came again after another historic defeat, this time by -17 against Real Madrid (100–88). The Olympiacos team made it clear that it dominates Europe, becoming the third in the history of the Euroleague after Maccabi Tel Aviv (2004, 2005) and Jugoplasty (1989, 1990, 1991), which won consecutive Final Four titles .

In short, the presence of Olympiacos in the 11 finals-4 in which he took part:

1994 FINAL FOUR (Tel Aviv)

With Giannis Ioannidis on the bench in his first participation, he finished in second place, losing the trophy in Badalona’s last attack to a desperate 3-pointer from Corny Thompson. In the last minute, everything showed that he would “clean up” the match, as he was ahead in the score, despite having a six-minute blackout. However, failure is proverbial, as are fouls. Thus, he lost a great opportunity to win his first European title.

1995 FINAL FOUR (Zaragoza)

For the second year in a row, Olympiacos eliminated Panathinaikos in the semi-finals of Europe’s main club tournament to reach the final, but this time lost the title to overwhelming favorite Real Madrid. “Evil Demon” Zeliko Obradovic, who was on the Badalona bench last year, is now on the Queen’s bench, while Giannis Ioannidis lost to the Serbian coach for the second year in a row.

FINAL FOUR 1997 (Rome)

We needed to reach the third final of four and the third final in our history for Olympiacos to win the coveted cup in the Eternal City for the first time. With Dusan Ivkovic on the bench, they left no room for the Blaugranas, who were defeated in the final for the fifth time in their history. The tournament was remembered for the great performance of the great David Rivers, the skill of “Dud” on the bench and the amazing racquet duet (Tarlats, Fasulas).

1999 FINAL FOUR (Munich)

Two years after his crown, again coached by Dušan Ivković, he reached his fourth -4 final in five years, retaining the favorite title. Zalgiris Kaunas Jonas Kazlauskas, although a newcomer to the semi-final, playing modern basketball for his era, easily overcame his obstacle. In the short final with top players Dušan Vuksevic and Arian Komacek, he defeated Timsysteme Bologna to finish third.

FINAL FOUR 2009 (Berlin)

Ten years after reappearing in the final-4, he was also one of the most unfortunate with fourth place. … A bad day was seen in the semi-final where they lost for the first time to Panathinaikos, who also won the trophy. The fight between Obradovic and Giannakis on the bench, Jasikevicius and Spanoulis with Greer and Papaloukas on the floor was sensational and the match was played out in detail on the last frame. The defeat of Barcelona in the secondary final also brought disappointment.

FINAL FOUR 2010 (Paris)

At the Palais de Bercy in Paris and in the 6th Final Four in its history, Olympiacos overcame the Partizan hurdle in the semi-final to reach the final of the competition for the 4th time. Barcelona brought back good memories of the Rome final, but Juan Carlos Navarro’s great performance (21 points) didn’t leave much room for the Greek side.

FINAL FOUR 2012 (Istanbul)

Together with the late Dusan Ivkovic, who led him to the top of Europe 15 years ago, he became champion for the second time in his history. Initially led by Spanoulis, they got revenge on Barcelona for their elimination in the 2010 Final Four in the semi-finals. Against CSKA Moscow Jonas Kazlauskas and NBA player Andrei Kirilenko, Piraeus made an epic comeback from -19 (53-34) with 12 minutes left. With 9 minutes left and with the score 61-60 in favor of the Russians, Siskauskas missed both shots from the penalty line, Printezis scored the last goal, and the miracle happened.

FINAL FOUR 2013 (London)

The European Champion for the second year in a row and the third in its history (1997, 2012, 2013) was crowned on May 12, 2013 in London. Real Madrid managed a 17-point lead, 27-10, at the end of the first period after a three-pointer from Rudy Fernandez. However, in the second half, Vassilis Spanoulis “spoke”, who with 22 points (5 three-pointers) reduced the score “from top to bottom”. Olympiacos added a third star to their jersey, which is their last to this day.

FINAL FOUR 2015 (Madrid)

Real Madrid retaliated two years later by stripping him of his fourth European trophy. The queen of Giannis Sfyropoulos’ team was much better and won easily, taking advantage of her big miss on 3-pointers (5/23) and weakness on the rebounds. Characteristically, Spanoulis finished the match with only 3 points. In the semi-finals, Piraeus put in an extra effort by eliminating CSKA Moscow.

FINAL FOUR 2017 (Istanbul)

With 15,000 fans on their side, Olympiacos felt like they were playing in the SEF. The semi-final with “Efes” was decided in the final, despite the fact that the Turks took advantage of his absence in the third period, pulling ahead by 11 points. In the last 20 seconds the score was 74-74, but Misic’s incredible three-pointer in front of Vezenkov put an end to the dream. The short final against Barcelona was Giorgos Printezis’ last European game.