Efes Istanbul, defending champions, qualified for their third consecutive Euroleague final by dominating Olympiakos 77-74 in the semi-finals in the Stark Arena in Belgrade, and will aim for a second title in the competition queen of European basketball. The Istanbulites, winners on a three-point shot from the Serbian Vasilije Micic at the buzzer, will face a Spanish club, since FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are fighting for the second ticket for the final in the evening.
Manhandled for two quarters by a very good team from Piraeus, Efes took control of the match at the start of the third quarter, but Efes came back together to offer a suspenseful last ten minutes. Point guard Shane Larkin scored one of his two free throws just over a minute from the end of the match on a foul by Kostas Sloukas, to give Efes a four-point lead (74-70).
But Olympiakos, pushed by its nearly 10,000 supporters massed in the Belgrade hall, came back tied (74-74), with two free throws from Sloukas and a two-point basket from Martin Hassan. It was finally Vasilije Micic, MVP of the regular season and Final 4 last year, who scored the decisive three-point basket at the very end of the last possession, sending Efes to the Euroleague final. Ergin Ataman’s players will attempt a double, achieved for the last time in Euroleague history by Olympiakos (2012, 2013).