GIRONA (EuroCup) - A glitzy EuroCup semi-final is on the cards after Akasvayu Girona hammered Panionios to join Estudiantes in the Final Four.

Beaten for the first time in Athens by a very good Panionios team in the game two of the quarter-final tie on March 8, Svetislav Pesic`s men turned up the pressure on defense in the second quarter to turn a 22-20 deficit into a 35-22 lead at half-time.

With the Greek side struggling to stay in the contest early in the third, Akasvayu reeled off 11 consecutive points to kill them off.

The Spanish outfit eventually won, 83-49.

Girona are now hoping they will be selected as the hosts of the Final Four.

"This club, this city, this province and Catalunya cannot lose a great opportunity like this one which is to bring the Final Four to Girona,” Girona coach Pesic said.

"It would be a fantastic show for our fans."

Panionios had been such difficult opponents in the first two encounters of the quarter-final tie that no one expected them to be mauled on Wednesday.

Now Girona, who count Spain world champion Marc Gasol among their stars, are two games away from a title.

"To have qualified to the Final Four of the EuroCup means a lot to us,” he said.

“This was our aim since the start of the season, to reach this stage of the competition, and we have done it.

"The game went as we had planned, we pointed towards playing strong on defense and hit them on the counter-attack."

The veteran Gregor Fucka believes he and his Akasvayu team-mates will be tough to beat.

"We have been able to find our play again,” he said.

“This is our style of play and if we continue to play like this, we can compete against anyone in Europe and in the ACB."

Estudiantes swept Dynamo Moscow Region in two games to reach the last four.

Italian giants Virtus Bologna beat Turk Telekom in two games, and they will face Azovmash after the defending champions of Ukraine destroyed Lemesos in their game three decider.

Cindy Garcia-Bennett
FIBA