Olympiacos and Barcelona are one game away from the Euroleague semi-finals

Olympiacos triumphed over a fighting Monaco team (87-83) while Barcelona brought the Bayern down (75-66).

It seems like Olympiacos enjoy playing to be scared as Monaco came so close to the upset on their homecourt. The Greek side may have thought the job was done at the end of the 3rd quarter when they led by 13 points (71-58). Dwayne Bacon (23 points) was the one to propel his team to an 80-79 lead with 1:31 remaining. He was followed by Will Thomas (15 points, 8 rebounds). Mike James had a noticeable performance with 13 points, 5 points, and 8 rebounds but had a poor shooting night (0/3 from 2 and 1/6 from 3). Olympiacos and Kostas Sloukas (25 points) remained clutch by hitting the game-sealing free throws.

“We won, that is very difficult here. Monaco is a team whatever mistake you do, tactically, they put a lot of pressure on our guards, they stole a lot of balls. They played to the limit of fouls and they stole a lot of balls. When we had a big difference in the third quarter they came back. I respect them, they deserve to be here. they don’t quit. We need to go on with this attitude in this series. It will be a tough series until the end.”
Giorgos Bartzokas, Olimpiacos head coach

Next Game: Monaco (1) – Olimpiacos (2) on April 29, 9:00 P.M CET

Mirotic helps Barcelona to blow by Bayern Munchen

Barcelona had a fairly controlled win over the German side (75-66). The former Chicago Bulls player Nikola Mirotic was clearly the player of the game (25 points, 6 rebounds, 31 PIR). Barcelona came at half-time with a comfortable 49-31 lead. Vladimir Lucic (17 points) and Augustine Rubit (14 points) helped the germans to come as close as 10 points in the third. A displeasing sight for Barcelona head coach, Sarunas Jasikevicius.

“I thought we were very solid. The first half was the definition of solidness – 1 turnover, very good decisions. In the third quarter, we were typical Barca – coming out, losing concentration. But overall we have to be very happy, this is a very solid team. We found very good options on the seal. I thought our big guys created inside the post and understood when they had to finish it. I thought we played really simple basketball, and this is the most important thing at this level: how to play simple.”
Barcelona head coach, Sarunas Jasikevicius