2008-09PlayoffsGame 4
Real Madrid 75
Olympiacos Piraeus 78
April 02, 2009 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 PALACIO VISTALEGRE
Ioannis Bourousis celebrates - Olympiacos Piraeus - EB08

Olympiacos triumphed over Real Madrid 75-78

Olympiacos advanced to the Euroleague Final Four for the first time in a decade by edging Real Madrid 75-78 in the Spanish capital on Thursday to win its best-of-five Quarterfinal Playoffs series 3-1. Zoran Erceg was the game hero, scoring all of his 7 points in the last four minutes, including the go-ahead three-pointer in the final minute. Ioannis Bourousis paced the winners with 25 points on 9-for-11 two-point shooting, taking over in the absence of injured center Nikola Vujcic. Lynn Greer added 12 while Yotam Halperin had 10 for Olympiacos. Louis Bullock scored 19 points for Madrid and Felipe Reyes added 12. Olympiacos overcame an early deficit with a 0-8 run that Halperin capped with a three-pointer that gave the guests a 10-14 lead. Theo Papaloukas - who reached his seventh consecutive Final Four - and Bourousis helped Olympiacos to stay ahead, 16-20, at the end of the first quarter. Madrid played with extraordinary intensity in the second quarter with Tomas Van den Spiegel and Jeremiah Massey together on court. A 13-2 run that Kennedy Winston capped with a transition layup gave the hosts a 35-26 lead, which Madrid turned into a 41-33 edge at halftime. Bourousis and Giorgos Printezis brought Olympiacos back to life after the break, 49-48, but Reyes and Winston helped the hosts to stay ahead, 58-54, after three quarters. A three-pointer by Greer completed the guests' comeback, 59-60. Madrid found a go-to guy in Bullock, but Bourousis and Erceg tied it at 70-70 with a minute to go. Erceg struck from downtown while free throws by Greer sealed the outcome down the stretch.

Alex Mumbru got Madrid going with a three-pointer before Printezis and Reyes traded layups to make it 5-2. Bourousis dunked, but Bullock answered from downtown to give Madrid an 8-4 lead. Axel Hervelle got the crowd involved with a put-back dunk, however Josh Childress took over with a spin move in the low post - and the free throw that came with it. A layup by Printezis soon gave Olympiacos its first lead, 10-11. Madrid could not get its shooters involved while a three-pointer by Halperin capped a 0-8 Olympiacos run. Hervelle stepped up with a free throw that Childress beat with an acrobatic layup. Marko Tomas provided a highlight with a wild three-point play to bring Madrid back to life, 14-16. Papaloukas shined with a reverse layup only for a six-meter jumper by Winston kept the hosts close. Olympiacos adjusted its man-to-man defense late in the first quarter and Papaloukas fed Bourousis for a layup to boost the Reds' lead to 16-20 after 10 minutes.

Papaloukas paced Olympiacos with a fallaway jumper early in the second quarter. Madrid tried to run the court with Massey and Van den Spiegel together on court. The hosts kept missing shots until a high-flying put-back dunk by Massey brought Madrid within 3. Bullock took over with a driving layup-plus-foul to tie it at 22-22. Childress scored in penetration but Winston and Massey answered with back-to-back layups to help Madrid regain the lead. Van den Spiegel finished a fast break alleyoop dunk that saw Olympiacos call timeout. Another breakaway layup by Bullock capped an 8-0 Madrid run. Bourousis stepped up with a jump hook, but Sergio Llull answered from downtown and fed Winston with a transition layup for a 35-26 lead. Bourousis scored again, but Reyes answered with a put-back layup. Halperin buried a triple, but Massey scored around the basket. Madrid kept playing with outstanding intensity and free throws by Bullock made it a double-digit game, 41-31. A driving layup by Greer brought Olympiacos within 41-33 as a 18-meter bomb by Winston did not count as Madrid had previously called timeout.

Bourousis shined with a power put-back layup immediately after the break that Raul Lopez erased with a five-meter jumper. Halperin took over with a driving layup and Printezis scored around the basket to give Olympiacos some hope at 43-39. Madrid adjusted its defense and soon started to play up-tempo. Hervelle rescued the hosts with a fast break layup that an unstoppable Bourousis matched with free throws. The Reds kept playing physical defense while a jump hook by Bourousis saw the hosts call timeout at 47-45. Reyes tried to change things with a jumper, but the Reds kept playing with high intensity now. Printezis stepped up with a put-back layup and added as foul shot for a 49-48 deficit. Reyes sank a jump hook while Winston downed a long jumper to give Madrid some fresh air at 53-48. Bourousis and Massey traded foul shots while Winston had a huge block on Printezis, drew a foul and gave his team a 56-50 lead. Papaloukas buried a wide-open jumper before a tip-in by Van den Spiegel and free throws by Greer fixed the score at 58-54 after three quarters.

Van den Spiegel made a free throw early in the fourth quarter, but a big block by Vasilopoulos allowed Bourousis to get a three-point play in the other end. Bourousis also had a huge block on Van den Spiegel and a seven-meter bomb by Greer completed the guests' comeback, 59-60, with eight minutes to go. Bullock sank free throws as the game turned into an outstanding physical battle. Once again Bullock struck from downtown to give Madrid a safer lead, 65-60, with under six minutes remaining. Olympiacos called a much-needed timeout and Childress quickly scored in penetration. Greer added a stop-and-pop jumper to turn the game into a thriller, 65-64. Reyes hit free throws right before fouling out, but Erceg and a jump hook by Bourousis put Olympiacos back ahead, 67-68. Bullock answered from downtown only for free throws by Erceg to tie the game at 70-70 with 1:11 to go. Lopez missed a three-point shot and Erceg buried one from the right wing, causing Madrid to call timeout down 70-73 with 36 seconds remaining. Bullock missed an off-balance shot and Greer hit free throws to make it 70-75. A three-point play by Van den Spiegel got Madrid within 75-77 with 10.3 seconds to go, but a foul shot by Greer gave the Reds a 75-78 edge. Madrid had a final chance to tie the game, but Bullock had the ball stripped on the final play

Thursday, April 2, 2009
Euroleague.net
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Referees: BACHAR, SHMUEL; ANKARALI, RECEP; VIATOR, EDDIE; VAUTHIER, CHRISTOPHE
Attendance: 12900
By Quarter1234
Real Madrid16251717
Olympiacos Piraeus20132124
End of Quarter1234
Real Madrid16415875
Olympiacos Piraeus20335478
Real Madrid
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 MIROTIC, NIKOLA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 BOGDANOVIC, BOJAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 WINSTON, KENNEDY 27:32 9 4/7   1/2   6 6 1 2   2     2 18
9 REYES, FELIPE 28:22 12 4/12   4/4 4 6 10     4   1 5 4 8
12 VAN DEN SPIEGEL, TOMAS 11:23 9 3/4   3/5 2 1 3   2     1 4 6 12
15 MUMBRU, ALEX 12:04 3 0/2 1/1         2 1 1     2   1
17 HERVELLE, AXEL 18:49 5 2/5 0/1 1/2 4 3 7     1   1 2 1 4
21 MASSEY, JEREMIAH 21:15 8 3/5   2/2 3 1 4 1 1       2   10
22 BULLOCK, LOUIS 32:19 19 2/8 3/10 6/6 1 2 3 1 2 3     1 6 14
23 LLULL, SERGIO 12:31 3 0/2 1/2   1   1 4         2   3
24 LOPEZ, RAUL 27:53 4 1/3 0/1 2/2   2 2 5 2 2     3 2 7
33 TOMAS, MARKO 7:52 3 1/2 0/3 1/1         1 1   1 1 2 -1
Team             2 2   1 1         2
Totals 200:00 75 20/50 5/18 20/24 15 23 38 14 12 13 2 4 22 23 78
        40% 27.8% 83.3%
Head coach: PLAZA, JOAN
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Olympiacos Piraeus
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 PAPALOUKAS, THEODOROS 27:36 8 4/5 0/1     1 1 2 1 3     1 2 8
5 PELEKANOS, MICHALIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6 CHILDRESS, JOSH 30:46 7 3/3 0/1 1/1   7 7 1 2 1       3 18
9 BOUROUSIS, IOANNIS 36:48 25 9/11   7/9   6 6 2     3   5 7 34
10 HALPERIN, YOTAM 19:01 10 2/4 2/4     1 1 2   1     3 1 6
11 GREER, LYNN 22:02 12 2/6 1/4 5/6 1 2 3   1 2     1 5 10
13 VASILOPOULOS, PANAGIOTIS 8:42     0/1   1   1     2 1   1   -2
14 VOUGIOUKAS, IAN 2:09                         2   -2
16 PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS 21:39 9 4/7 0/1 1/2 1 4 5         1 4 2 6
17 ERCEG, ZORAN 13:56 7   1/2 4/4   4 4 1         4 2 9
18 TEODOSIC, MILOS 13:05     0/2         2   3     2   -5
24 PARGO, JANNERO 4:16   0/1 0/2   1   1     1   1     -4
Team                   1 1          
Totals 200:00 78 24/37 4/18 18/22 4 25 29 10 5 14 4 2 23 22 78
        64.9% 22.2% 81.8%
Head coach: GIANNAKIS, PANAGIOTIS

Head Coaches

PLAZA, JOAN
Real Madrid
"We're disappointed. We had planned to return to Greece to play a fifth game. Now, I can only say I wish Olympiacos luck until they play a Spanish team. The game has been decided by small details, such as experience. You can tell by looking at them that they are accustomed to playing with this tension. It's the most expensive team in Europe. It's a seasoned team, with players who are capable of hanging in there and that has been very clear at the end. Our team has to keep growing and learning from these games."
GIANNAKIS, PANAGIOTIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"We knew from the start that Real Madrid was a good team. They played a great Euroleague, above all at home. It's a team that likes to run, and that affected us a lot, above all in the first game, in addition to the errors we committed. Today, my team has been concentrated more and had better discipline. We controlled the game in a clear way in the second half, and we made it evident at the end by going ahead. It has been a tough and beautiful game by two teams at the maximum level and I congratulate my players for their work and for how them could overcome the injury to Nikola Vujcic."

Players

REYES, FELIPE
Real Madrid
"It was a very physical end of the game but we had to play well in the final minute. We gave all we had in this game and we are proud of that. It has been a good series but we had a bitter end to it. We dominated the game for many minutes but shots did not fall in down the stretch. We have to give 100% and avoid taking things for granted against such an opponent at any time. We now must think about the Spanish League."
ERCEG, ZORAN
Olympiacos Piraeus
"It was a great game and a really important win for us, especially because our goal was avoiding Game 5 in Athens. We were under pressure but managed to get this win. We allowed too many easy baskets in the first half, but managed to overcome our deficit with great defense. I am very happy with the last quarter I played but we all played well in the final minutes. This is my first Euroleague games so making it to the Final Four is a matter of satisfaction for me."
BOUROUSIS, IOANNIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"It was an important game for both teams, especially for us, since Nikola Vujcic could not play. We managed to play good defense and had a good game, managing to stop their outside players and doing really well in the second half. Playing the Final Four will not change our mentality. We will keep playing tough, even when it will be my first Final Four. I fell really well and I hope we can win the title. Even when I had a good game, the most important thing is that we won. We played good defense in the second half, and that is more important that how I played."
PAPALOUKAS, THEODOROS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"It has been a tough game but I am happy because we managed to beat Real Madrid in their home court without Nikola Vujcic. We showed great character and outstanding mentality overcoming a bad first half. I am very satisfied and it is a great motivation to be in the Final Four, but after the tough game we had I just can think about relaxing my body and mind. I was surprised by the wonderful basketball atmosphere. Real Madrid had a great game and we are going to work hard to do our best in Berlin."
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