FIBA Basketball
ESP - Tau edge Panathinaikos and return to Euroleague Final Four
ATHENS (Euroleague) - Tau Ceramica held on against a determined Panathinaikos on Wednesday in their quarter-final decider to book a ticket to the Euroleague Final Four for the second year in succession
ATHENS (Euroleague) - Tau Ceramica held on against a determined Panathinaikos on Wednesday in their quarter-final decider and won 74-71 to claim a place in the Euroleague Final Four for the second year in succession.
And it was players who will feature at the FIBA World Championship later this year in Japan who made the big plays.
Turkish international Serkan Erdogan had one of his top offensive performances of the campaign with 24 points for Tau, who also got a clutch effort from their Copa del Rey MVP Pablo Prigioni of Argentina.
Panathinaikos had a chance to tie the game at the end but Greek international Fragiskos Alvertis missed a three-pointer to leave the 18,000-strong crowd in the OAKA Olympic Stadium, most of them supporters of the Greens, stunned.
The defeat was the second in as many nights for Greece with Aris Thessaloniki falling to Dynamo Moscow in the final of the ULEB Cup on Tuesday.
Luis Scola, the Argentinian international and superstar who helped his country snatch gold at the Olympics in 2004 on this very floor, was held to just three points on one of six shooting and he turned the ball over four times although he did pull down 11 rebounds.
His countryman, point guard Prigioni, had 12 points. He was four of six from the floor, including two of three from the arc.
His biggest basket came with just 17.6 seconds remaining. Slovenian guard Jaka Lakovic, who will play for his country in Japan, had just pulled Panathinaikos to within one with a three-point play when Prigioni struck.
He nailed a jumper just before the shot clock expired for a 72-69 lead.
Tau have joined CSKA in the Final Four, which is to be played in Prague later this month.
Two-time defending champions Maccabi Tel Aviv host Olympiacos and Real Madrid travel to Winterthur Barcelona in Game 3 deciders to be played on Thursday.
The defeat ends a terrific season for Panathinaikos in the Euroleague.
They looked to be heading out of the competition in the Top 16 after losing their first three games but then fought back to win three straight.
Zeljko Obradovic’s team prevailed in Game 1 against Tau but lost in Vitoria and then slipped up on their home court in the decider.
"The main problem we faced was that we played average defense during the first half and allowed Tau to get too many offensive rebounds," Obradovic said.
"Prigioni scored an unbelievable basket down the stretch. That was a decisive moment that possibly sealed the outcome of the game."
As for Tau, they are coming off an emotionally draining 2004-05 when they reached the final of the Euroleague, only to lose against Maccabi.
Scola & Co then lost in five games to Madrid in the ACB finals.
Coach Dusko Ivanovic left for Barcelona, and guards Jose Manuel Calderon and Arvydas Macijauskas departed for the NBA.
Two more wins in Prague and Tau will be Euroleague champions, and they will then be among the favourites to win the ACB crown.
By PA Sport, Exclusively for FIBA
And it was players who will feature at the FIBA World Championship later this year in Japan who made the big plays.
Turkish international Serkan Erdogan had one of his top offensive performances of the campaign with 24 points for Tau, who also got a clutch effort from their Copa del Rey MVP Pablo Prigioni of Argentina.
Panathinaikos had a chance to tie the game at the end but Greek international Fragiskos Alvertis missed a three-pointer to leave the 18,000-strong crowd in the OAKA Olympic Stadium, most of them supporters of the Greens, stunned.
The defeat was the second in as many nights for Greece with Aris Thessaloniki falling to Dynamo Moscow in the final of the ULEB Cup on Tuesday.
Luis Scola, the Argentinian international and superstar who helped his country snatch gold at the Olympics in 2004 on this very floor, was held to just three points on one of six shooting and he turned the ball over four times although he did pull down 11 rebounds.
His countryman, point guard Prigioni, had 12 points. He was four of six from the floor, including two of three from the arc.
His biggest basket came with just 17.6 seconds remaining. Slovenian guard Jaka Lakovic, who will play for his country in Japan, had just pulled Panathinaikos to within one with a three-point play when Prigioni struck.
He nailed a jumper just before the shot clock expired for a 72-69 lead.
Tau have joined CSKA in the Final Four, which is to be played in Prague later this month.
Two-time defending champions Maccabi Tel Aviv host Olympiacos and Real Madrid travel to Winterthur Barcelona in Game 3 deciders to be played on Thursday.
The defeat ends a terrific season for Panathinaikos in the Euroleague.
They looked to be heading out of the competition in the Top 16 after losing their first three games but then fought back to win three straight.
Zeljko Obradovic’s team prevailed in Game 1 against Tau but lost in Vitoria and then slipped up on their home court in the decider.
"The main problem we faced was that we played average defense during the first half and allowed Tau to get too many offensive rebounds," Obradovic said.
"Prigioni scored an unbelievable basket down the stretch. That was a decisive moment that possibly sealed the outcome of the game."
As for Tau, they are coming off an emotionally draining 2004-05 when they reached the final of the Euroleague, only to lose against Maccabi.
Scola & Co then lost in five games to Madrid in the ACB finals.
Coach Dusko Ivanovic left for Barcelona, and guards Jose Manuel Calderon and Arvydas Macijauskas departed for the NBA.
Two more wins in Prague and Tau will be Euroleague champions, and they will then be among the favourites to win the ACB crown.
By PA Sport, Exclusively for FIBA