Zalgiris beats Olympiacos to storm into Final Four 24

The party at Zalgirio Arena spilled into the streets of Kaunas on Thursday night after Zalgiris Kaunas made history by defeating Olympiacos Piraeus 101-91 to clinch the club’s first trip to the EuroLeague Final Four since the turn of the century. The Lithuanian champs won the best-of-five playoff series 3-1 to become the first team to clinch a spot at the Final Four in Belgrade.

Zalgiris never trailed and led by as many as 23 in a game that was not as close as the final score would indicate. Kevin Pangos led the winners with 21 points, Edgaras Ulanovas posted 20 points and 9 rebounds and Axel Toupane added 11 points.

Vassilis Spanoulis paced Olympiacos with 19 points and 6 assists, Janis Strelnieks scored 17, Kostas Papanikolaou 15, Kyle Wiltjer 12 and Brian Roberts 10. Olympiacos was without injured star Georgios Printezis.

A jumper by Pangos and a three by Paulius Jankunas had the arena rocking just a minute into the game. Roberts connected from downtown to get the visitors going, however great passing led to triples from Pangos, Ulanovas and Vasilije Micic, a 14-5 Zalgiris lead and an Olympiacos timeout. The Reds regrouped thanks to a long three by Spanoulis and drew within 18-13 through Papanikolaou, however Pangos responded from deep for his 10th point of the quarter. Nikola Milutinov, Roberts and Strelnieks all sank free throws in a 0-7 run that deflated the crowd and closed the gap to 21-20. Zalgiris turned to Brandon Davies in the paint to end its drought, but a Ioannis Papapetrou jumper on the buzzer made it 23-22 after 10 minutes.

A put-back by Ulanovas and free throws from Antanas Kavaliauskas kept Zalgiris in front. Strelnieks kept it close with a three-pointer, but the Zalgiris bigs – Kavaliauskas and Paulius Jankunas – extended the margin. A mid-range jumper by Beno Udrih made it 35-27 midway through the second quarter. Back-to-back threes by Arturas Milaknis and Ulanovas and a floater by the latter completed a 14-0 run that made it 43-27. Spanoulis stopped the bleeding, but was burned on defense by Toupane who further extended the margin with a basket-plus-foul. Jamel McLean muscled his way to points in the paint on consecutive possessions and Spanoulis free throws made it 51-37 at the break.

Davies scored on Zalgiris’s first two possessions of the second half, but Olympiacos got threes from Kim Tillie and Roberts. Davies free throws made it 59-43, but Papanikolaou made foul shots and Wiltjer hit a three from the elbow to bring the Reds within 11. Threes by Ulanovas and White had the fans on their feet at 65-48 midway through the third quarter. A three by Papanikolaou was erased by Kavaliauskas’s three-point play and Ulanovas free throws made it a 20-point game. Ulanovas capped an 8-0 charge with a layup and –after a Papanikolaou drive – drilled a triple for a 76-53 advantage. Olympiacos refused to quit and Strelnieks hit from beyond the arc, but Aaron White’s jumper gave the hosts a 78-56 cushion through three quarters.

Strelnieks and Spanoulis started to chip away at the deficit despite Toupane’s three-pointer. Wiltjer heated up and his three-pointer made it 83-71 with six minutes to play. After a timeout, free throws by Pangos reset the hosts. Strelnieks did his best to keep the pressure on, but even when the Zalgiris attack slowed, the hosts remained tough on defense. When White hit a three with 3:20 to go, the arena erupted at 91-76. The final three minutes were accompanied by singing. Papanikolaou and Spanoulis gave an impressive effort to get their team within 7 in the final minute, however the final buzzer and real celebrations were just around the corner.