Olympiacos Piraeus qualify for the Final Four; Beat Montepaschi Siena 76-69 in game-4: Euroleague Recap
Just about a year ago, Montepaschi Siena thrashed Olympiacos Piraeus 3-1, stopping them from qualifying for the Final Four for the third time in a row.
On Friday night, the Reds reversed the script by sending the Italian giants crashing out of the Euroleague, in the game-4 of the playoffs, 76-69.
Siena gave the Greeks a run for their money throughout the first 30 minutes of the game, but let their intensity down just when it mattered the most. Olympiacos outscored the Azzuri 22-14 in the final quarter, paving way for their
3rd Final Four appearance in the past 4 years. They were led by Vassilis Spanoulis, who scored 19 points, which included a perfect 10-on-10 from the charity stripe.
The night however belonged to Kyle Hines. The American forward, who was reduced to just 3 points in the last game, erupted with 19 points on an 8-for-15 shooting from the two point range, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks. He was thrilled
with the win;
"It's an amazing feeling. It was a long road. I always said 'if we get better, if we improve every day, we can reach our goal.' Defense has been the key all series. If we play physical and strong, we can get the job done. I’m gonna
go celebrate with my teammates. We did it!"
No other Olympiacos player reached double figures for Olympiacos, who converted 51.3 percent of their two point attempts, but just managed 4-of-18 from the three point range. They were however saved by some slick rebounding on
the offensive glass, grabbing 17 as compared to just 12 by Siena.
Siena, although better from the long range, managed to knock down only 19-of-41 from the deuce range. They were also out assisted 12-5 and committed double the turnovers 14-7 to that by Olympiacos.
David Andersen hammered a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds for them, Nikos Zisis had 15 points, Igor Rakocevic tallied 11 points while Bo McCalebb and Ksistof Lavrinovic had 10 points each.
Siena held a one point, 39-38, advantage over the Reds at the break and after a 16-16 third quarter, the sides kept fighting hard and were tied at 61-all, going into the last five minutes of the game. That was when the Greeks pulled
the trigger with an 11-3 burst and never looked back after that.
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