There was drama, despair, and determination throughout these furious forty minutes in the Oaka. The culmination of the Euroleague Final Four saw Olympiacos put to an enormous test by Real Madrid but finally emerged triumphant. Emmet Ryan reports on the night the Reds finally got over the line.
The Olympiacos chants began over three hours before the opening tip. The fans that came in early for the last game of the Euroleague Final Four, indeed the whole season, had no desire to contain themselves.
With Real Madrid’s supporters, few in number as they were, parked in a corner of the upper tier, the whole of the OAKA was a sea of Red. This was a home game for Olympiacos by any reasonable definition.
It was also a most dramatic affair. Right up to the death, there remained that sliver of doubt. Yet somehow, some way, the Reds emerged victorious.
The problem becomes evident
The first pass directed at Nikola Militunov told quite the story. Tyler Dorsey was closed off on the right elbow, he passed to Thomas Walkup at the top of the key. The ball went straight into Militunov and the undersized Chuma Okeke couldn’t help but foul him.
This was what we expected. Olympiacos arguably had a size advantage overall against a healthy Real Madrid roster. Against this version, it was enormous. While the early buckets favoured Los Blancos, they were racking up fouls and fatigue quickly.
The next ball to Militunov saw him get triple coverage but no-one dared touch him. Through the gap, he made the fighting finish. It’s an odd thing to write considering they fell 12 points behind in the first 4 minutes, but the Reds were getting the type of game they wanted. On the third occasion, Madrid committed two defenders, leaving an open three for Walkup.
Trey Lyles goes wild
The thing is, the other expectation going into this final was that Trey Lyles was going to get beaten around the gym. With Usman Garuba, the last true banging big Madrid had, injured, the focus of the Olympiacos D was going to be on battering him.
Yet Lyles, who said on the eve of the Euroleague Final Four that he’s more comfortable at the 5, imposed his game early. It was simple and brilliant. He read the floor clearly and kept on getting in position to drain threes.
With Olympiacos keen to force Real Madrid into an interior battle, this was exactly what was needed for Los Blancos. Furthermore, while he picked up one foul in the first, he was measured in his defensive play. Containment was the goal for him in that respect and he broadly delivered. Add that to his 13 first quarter points on 6 shots, and it was exactly the impact required.
Now that’s Bartzokas ball
Trailing 29-23 and on a fast break, the first look wasn’t good, nor was the second. Then Cory Joseph got the ball and the IQ on the possession went up. Joseph realised he had a low percentage three available but that Alec Peters was in a better position to make a decision. Peters looked at the three, adjusted, went inside and comfortably drained the open mid-range jumper.
The next offensive possession for Olympiacos saw Evan Fournier act as de facto creator, putting it nicely inside for Peters to draw a foul from Mario Hezonja. More modular basketball from the subsequent fresh possession created an open three for Tyson Ward.
Joseph and Fournier made a fine pair in this modular system. They could seamlessly switch who was the primary with ease. That’s what makes the system Georgios Bartzokas has created so compelling. Adjustment of focus all comes as part of a natural flow on the floor.
This was pure drama from start to finish as Olympiacos and Real Madrid served up a perfect finale to the Euroleague season.
A veteran showcase
Mr Mandarina, Sergio Llull, was always going to have his say at the Euroleague Final Four. A corner three from him briefly dulled the raucous home crowd. He’d received the loudest boos during the introductions, a mark of respect in truth for the threat he posed even in his golden years on the court.
Evan Fournier however was also in the mood to make an impression. A three, a completed and-1, and then an assist inside to Alec Peters from Fournier tied the game for the first time since 0-0. Then he brought the place to its feet with the go-ahead bucket moments later.
While Llull has enjoyed the full gamut of emotions at this stage with Real Madrid, Fournier is making up for lost time. Last year, he felt the crushing agony of Olympiacos not being up to the task. Here, in an arena that he loves to perform in, he was well up for it.
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The tension erupts
It was handbags, just to be clear. Yet the minor confrontation between Shaq McKissic and Facu Campazzo at the top of the key told everything about the state of play in the third quarter. Real Madrid were fighting to stay in it, Olympiacos were getting frustrated to push ahead.
Alberto Abalde was in like a shot to Face out of the conflagration. Let anyone but him pick up a T if necessary, that was the attitude. The time for review looked to, for once, actually calm things down. That’s not the norm with replay reviews at any stage of the season, let alone the decisive game of the Euroleague Final Four.
Abalde’s efforts were in vain, the refs went with the safe option of offsetting technicals to Campazzo and McKissic. Mario Hezonja drained a three right afterwards to cut the gap to the minimum. It felt like we were in for the long haul.
Mario Hezonja started and finished a run that reminded Olympiacos that Real Madrid were in this fight to the end at the Euroleague Final Four
Oh my
A 10-0 run from Real Madrid gave everyone pause for thought. Hezonja started and finished it with Andres Feliz doing the work in-between. It was a gut-punch to the Olympiacos fans in the stands and forced a re-think from Georgios Bartzokas barely a minute after the TV timeout.
There was one big card that Bartzokas hadn’t played yet. Tyrique Jones stood impatiently behind the bench waiting to get in. Having been impressive in the win over Fenerbahce on Friday, he had yet to have any kind of say in this final.
With play becoming increasingly broken as the game wore on, this screamed of an opportune time to bring in the disruptor. Instead, having used Donta Hall to spot Nikola Militunov in the first half, Bartzokas stuck with the rangy Serb through the third as Olympiacos worked their way back.
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There he is
Tyrique Jones finally got his shot at the start of the fourth. He immediately brought his frenetic energy at both ends. What looked like a mindlessly bulldozing off ball drive offensively freed up all the space Evan Fournier could ask for to nail a three.
Then he set about bumping Theo Maledon. On the defensive end it gave up a foul on the floor but at the other it gave Cory Joseph the space for a go-ahead three. Still, he was that touch too aggressive defensively.
Torn over whether to switch to Maledon or stick with Trey Lyles, he was caught between two minds and fouled the latter. Jones made up for it with more space making for a Sasha Vezenkov bucket but the margins were getting slimmer for all parties.
It was a fight from start to finish but Olympiacos found a way to conquer Real Madrid in the title game at the Euroleague Final Four
And the The Man is
Sasha Vezenkov was quiet for the first 35 minutes of the Euroleague title game. A three out of a time out restored the lead for Olympiacos in the fourth as the season MVP finally made his presence felt. The decision to have Alec Peters share the floor with him seemed an inspired one as it reduced the attention the Bulgarian was getting.
Yet there came Mario Hezonja with a huge three to tie it up inside of two minutes to play. Tyrique Jones responded with a brave finish at the rim. With 82 seconds to play and time stopped for a review, this was pure theatre.
This was the time for the Olympiacos D to stand tall. A first stop and Thomas Walkup quickly went to the line. Another and it was soon Even Fournier’s turn. Winning a Euroleague title is meant to hurt. Olympiacos were feeling every bit of it but pain hurts a lot less when you win.
The hard way
Olympiacos couldn’t have made this easy on themselves. After losing two finals to Real Madrid since beating them for the 2013 title, it was inevitable that the culmination of their Euroleague Odyssey would be a challenging one.
After so many trips where they expected so much. After Sergio Llull broke their heart. When Abu Dhabi was a damp squib in the desert, it was a lot to ask the Oly fans to dream. Yet on this night, in the home of their fiercest rivals, Olympiacos finally came out of a Euroleague Final Four smiling.
The first team to finish first in the regular season and lift the trophy. A side that brought beautiful basketball to all of us the past season. They finally had it. The jon was done. It’s a Red day in Europe.