2014-15PlayoffsGame 4
Olympiacos Piraeus 71
FC Barcelona 68
April 23, 2015 CET: 21:00
Local time: 22:00 PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP STADIUM

Olympiacos to Final Four as Printezis does it again

At the end of a dramatic fourth quarter that featured nine lead changes and six ties, Georgios Printezis played the role of hero again with a three-pointer on the buzzer to lift Olympiacos Piraeus over FC Barcelona 71-68 at Peace and Friendship Stadium to win their playoff series 3-1 and return to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four. Printezis, who already earned legend status at his boyhood club when he scored the winning basket in the 2012 Euroleague Championship Game, finished with 14 points for the Reds. Vassilis Spanoulis led the Olympiacos attack with 17 points and 5 assists and Vangelis Mantzaris added 11 points. It was the third straight win for Olympiacos, which lost Game 1 of the series in Spain. Ante Tomic led Barcelona with 13 points, Tomas Satoransky scored 12 and Alex Abrines 11 as the team’s Euroleague season came to an end.

First quarter: Little separates the sides early

Maciej Lampe made his second straight at power forward for Barcelona and scored on the game’s first possession. Lampe then fouled his counterpart and Georgios Printezis sank the resulting free throws. Tomic and Bryant Dunston traded points in the paint before Abrines drained a long jumper. Lampe and Dunston blocked shots at each end. Printezis tied the score at 6-6. Spanoulis’s long pass led to Tremmell Darden’s tough layup and foul. Tomic made it 9-8 after five minutes. Othello Hunter sank free throws for the Reds, but both defenses made getting shots tough. Abrines ended a three-minute drought for his team with a triple to tie the score. Feeling confident, Abrines buried a second three. Kostas Sloukas lofted a pass for a Brent Petway alley-oop slam, but Brad Oleson nailed a triple to put the visitors up 4. Sloukas’s 2 free throws and another 1 from Hunter closed the gap to 16-17 at the end of the quarter.

Second quarter: Navarro, Tomic lead Barca surge for halftime edge

Oliver Lafayette’s jumper put the hosts in front before Sloukas added a jumper. Barcelona came back as Marcelinho Huertas made a baseline floater and DeShaun Thomas scored on the offensive glass. Tibor Pleiss’s free throws made it 20-23. Sloukas’s next jumper was neutralized by Thomas’s free throws. Spanoulis tied the score at 25-25 with a fade-away three-pointer. Tomas Satoransky free throws nosed Barcelona back in front, but Hunter rose for an offensive rebound and slam. Juan Carlos Navarro’s tough layup and Tomic’s nifty move in the paint gave Barcelona a 4-point cushion. After a timeout, Spanoulis missed a shot from downtown and Navarro pulled up and made his. Tomic split free throws to cap a 0-8 run. Printezis produced another of his trademarked one-handed shots, but Navarro ran the pick-and-roll with Lampe for a layup by the latter and a 29-37 halftime advantage.

Third quarter: Spanoulis sends Olympiacos ahead

An Abrines put back gave Barcelona a double-digit lead a minute and a half into the second half. Mantzaris countered with a three-pointer before Mantzaris’s floater made it 34-39. Tomic split free throws as points remained tough for both sides to come by. Satoransky twisted his way through the paint for a basket plus foul only to see Petway sink a three from the wing. Tomic dunked in transition to make it 37-45. After a timeout, Petway connected on a second three. And then Spanoulis did the same. Satoransky found an opening in the Olympiacos defense for an easy slam. Hunter countered with a three-point play to make it a 1-point game. Pleiss scored on the offensive glass to keep Barcelona on top. Spanoulis’s free throws and bank shot put the Reds ahead 50-49, but Tomic split free throws to make it 50-50.

Fourth quarter: After nine lead changes and six ties, Printezis stars

Tomic put Barcelona ahead, but Printezis split free throws and then scored in the paint for a 53-52 edge. Spanoulis’s layup brought the crowd to its feet. After three scoreless minutes for his team, Barcelona Coach Xavi Pascual called timeout. Juston Doellman, who was scoreless till that point, tied the game with a three-pointer. Dunston fouled out with five minutes remaining, but Tomic missed both of the resulting free throws. A Satoransky tip-in gave the visitors the lead, but Spanoulis responded with a three for a 58-57 Olympiacos advantage. Doellman free throws gave the lead back to Barcelona. Mantzaris banked in a lead-changing three, but Satoranski matched him. Oleson free throws made it 61-64 with less than two minutes remaining. Abrines split free throws to make it a two-possession game with 1:14 remaining. Mantzaris connected on a clutch three with less than a minute to go and a poor Tomic pass led to a Lafayette steal and a Printezis slam for a 66-65 edge with 39.5 seconds to go. Navarro made key free throws, but Spanoulis scored a short jumper with 8.3 seconds left. Mantzaris fouled Navarro, who only made 1 of 2 free throws to tie it at 68-68 with 5.2 seconds on the clock. Olympiacos had tome for one last play and got the ball to Printezis, who buried a three on the buzzer as Peace and Friendship Stadium erupted with joy.

Georgios Printezis - Olympiacos Piraeus - EB14
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Euroleague.net
Referees: JOVCIC, MILIVOJE; VIATOR, EDDIE; ZAMOJSKI, JAKUB
Attendance: 11645
By Quarter1234
Olympiacos Piraeus16132121
FC Barcelona17201318
End of Quarter1234
Olympiacos Piraeus16295071
FC Barcelona17375068
Olympiacos Piraeus
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 PETWAY, BRENT 16:32 8 1/2 2/4   2   2     2     1 2 6
5 HUNTER, OTHELLO 26:24 8 2/4   4/5 4 4 8 2 1 2     4 3 13
6 DUNSTON, BRYANT 12:26 2 1/2       1 1     1 1   5 1 -2
7 SPANOULIS, VASSILIS 31:28 17 3/4 3/7 2/2   1 1 5 1 2     2 2 17
9 PAPAPETROU, IOANNIS 12:41           2 2     1         1
10 SLOUKAS, KOSTAS 18:45 6 2/5 0/4 2/2   2 2 3 1         3 8
15 PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS 23:28 14 4/8 1/6 3/4   3 3         1 1 6 11
16 AGRAVANIS, DIMITRIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
17 MANTZARIS, VANGELIS 20:51 11 1/1 3/4     2 2 3 1 1     4 2 13
20 LAFAYETTE, OLIVER 13:04 2 1/2 0/1     1 1 1 1       1 1 3
21 DARDEN, TREMMELL 8:14 3 1/2 0/1 1/1   1 1       1     1 4
24 LOJESKI, MATT 16:07   0/5     2 4 6 3     2 1 3   2
Team           2   2               2
Totals 200:00 71 16/35 9/27 12/14 10 21 31 17 5 9 4 2 21 21 78
        45.7% 33.3% 85.7%
Head coach: SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
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
FC Barcelona
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 DOELLMAN, JUSTIN 16:06 5 0/4 1/1 2/2   1 1   1 1 1   2 1 2
8 HEZONJA, MARIO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 HUERTAS, MARCELINHO 10:04 2 1/1 0/1     2 2 3 1       1 1 7
10 ABRINES, ALEX 20:55 11 2/2 2/7 1/2 1 1 2 1 2 1   1 1 1 8
11 NAVARRO, JUAN CARLOS 24:48 8 1/3 1/3 3/4   1 1 3   4     2 5 6
13 SATORANSKY, TOMAS 29:56 12 3/6 1/3 3/3 2 5 7 3 2       4 2 17
21 PLEISS, TIBOR 15:43 4 1/1   2/2 3 4 7     3     4 1 5
23 THOMAS, DESHAUN 13:52 4 1/4 0/1 2/2 3 1 4         2   1 3
24 OLESON, BRAD 21:03 5 0/2 1/1 2/2       2           2 7
30 LAMPE, MACIEJ 12:47 4 2/2 0/2     1 1       1   1 1 4
34 NACHBAR, BOSTJAN 11:16     0/1     2 2           3 1 -1
44 TOMIC, ANTE 23:30 13 5/8   3/8 1 6 7 1   3   1 3 5 11
Team             2 2               2
Totals 200:00 68 16/33 6/20 18/25 10 26 36 13 6 12 2 4 21 21 71
        48.5% 30% 72%
Head coach: PASCUAL, XAVI

Head Coaches

SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"It is a big day and a historic qualification for our team. I think that we were better in the details of two games played here and much better in Game 2 in Barcelona. Generally we played better and deserved to make it to the Final Four in this series against a great opponent. Tonight we played under pressure to finish the job here and not go back to Barcelona. We played a bad offensive game in the first half, but in the second we strengthened our defense and that was the first step to improve the offense and find a better rhythm. Luck goes with the strong and Olympiacos was stronger in the series. I want to dedicate the victory and the success to our presidents, who have kept the team at such a high level for many years and to our fans who pushed us in the toughest moments. I said to the players that I am very proud for them because they never quit and showed once again their character and mental toughness. We have experienced players, a unique leader in Spanoulis and a fighting group. All the layers put their ego below the team. During the season we had many injuries, but we kept our patience and desire to succeed. It was like the Russian tactic of retreat and counterattack against Napoleon. Regarding the last play tonight, we didn't plan for Printezis to take the ball, but we had on the court a small ball team, so everybody there could shoot the ball. Sloukas had a clear mind, saw Printezis open on the perimeter, gave him the ball and this is the story."
PASCUAL, XAVI
FC Barcelona
"Congratulations to Olympiacos for their win and the qualification to the Final Four. The game was similar to the previous and we should have won, but it didn't happen. Both teams played good basketball, but Olympiacos had more luck than us. I understand that our fans are now disappointed because Barcelona is used to playing in the Final Four and now we didn't succeed. I am satisfied from the effort of my players because we had to deal with a lot of tough situations and we controlled the game. We led by 5 points, but the end was painful. Some mistakes took place in the last minutes of Game 3 and Game 4, but I blame myself and nobody else."

Players

MANTZARIS, VANGELIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"There is no reason to talk about tactics and similar things. I think that everything happened tonight because of our big heart and strong character. We are champions and we play like that. Olympiacos is a team that never gives up and has the know-how to come back from any deficit and win a game. We did it many times in the past, we did it tonight and we will do it again in the future. "
PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"I scored the winning basket at the buzzer, we made it to the Final Four and all that happened on my name day, so thank God! I appreciate our success to take part in another Final Four, but I consider the biggest credit that we edged Barcelona three consecutive times in only six days, This is an outstanding achievement. When the ball came to me, I didn't have the time to think about. I just shot it and God helped it to go in. The main reason we are here is because we have strong character and we can beat any team playing good or playing bad. "
SPANOULIS, VASSILIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"It's all about a huge success. I think that we deserved to advance to the Final Four and I am looking forward to playing there and fighting for the best possible result. We proved that we can beat any opponent, not only in a single game but in a series as well. The turning point for us was the way we lost Game 1 there. We have been very frustrated because of our bad performance and the defeat hurt our egos. Barcelona is a great team and you have to be very strong in order to beat them three times in a row. Despite the financial crisis in Greece and the budget gap compared to other teams, Olympiacos is still here. We are a united group, with clear roles and much of love. Tonight was a thrilling game, in which we came back after trailing for most of the time, thanks to some big shots and great defense. Regarding my second place in the all-time Euroleague scorers, I feel grateful to my coaches and my teammates who always trust me to take the shots."
NAVARRO, JUAN CARLOS
FC Barcelona
"We fought and did everything possible, but in the end it didn't work out. This is a tough moment and we have to survive. We have won here in the past, but it is always hard to do it. We made a big and crucial mistake and Olympiacos played well. We would have liked to tie the series and bring it back to Barcelona, but we didn't succeed. Now we have to fight to win the Spanish League."