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Olyjmpiakos has grabbed the first ticket to the Athens Final Four of the Euroleague sweeping Monaco in the playoffs, while Panathinaikos will get another chance to make it past Valencia on Friday after losing at home on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The Reds won the best-of-three series with Monaco with a 3-0 score, thanks to their 105-82 triumph at Monte Carlo on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The result is actually rather flattering for the depleted Monegasques, who trailed by as many as 19 from the first 20 minutes (61-42), as the Greek champion was impossible to contain.<\/p>\n
The multitude of options for coach Giorgos Bartzokas gave Olympiakos a great variety in scoring, with Evan Fournier making 22 points and Alec Peters adding 18.<\/p>\n
In the Final Four Olympiakos will face the winner of the Fenerbahce vs Zalgiris series.<\/p>\n
Panathinaikos, on the other hand, went down 91-87 to Valencia in Athens, even though it nearly sent the game to overtime in the end having trailed for the entire game. The series now is at 2-1 for the Greens.<\/p>\n
In a game of considerable tension, following the ugly scenes at the end of Game 2 in Spain, both coaches were ejected in the third period after coming very close to literally trading blows.<\/p>\n
Valencia imposed its fast game on the Greens, as it had done in the regular season both at home and away, but appeared to run out of steam in the last quarter, when the home support gave the Greeks a boost. They turned the 19-point lead (62-43) of the Spanish to just three with 20 seconds left (90-87); however, the Greens missed the crucial triples at the end and are now waiting for their second chance in Game 4 on Friday, also in Athens.<\/p>\n
TJ Shorts notched up 17 points and Nikos Rogavopoulos 16.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n