Turkish Airlines EuroLeague: Olympiacos and Fenerbahce stun in Final Four

A stunning first day of Final Four action settled which two clubs will contest the 2017 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague final. Friday also decided which two clubs will be left playing for third and fourth place. To suggest that the day’s events were surprising and unexpected is an understatement.

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague final will be played between Olympiacos Piraeus and Fenerbahce Istanbul, after the clubs eliminated CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid respectively.

CSKA (2016) and Real Madrid (2015) are the two last EuroLeague champions and finished 1^st and 2^nd in the Regular Season, and were simply the favourites for the title. However, in our Final Four preview on Thursday, we discussed how this season’s event was open for any of the clubs and Friday proved that in amazing fashion.

Looking to the final, it is an interesting clash to look forward to on Sunday. Olympiacos has three previous titles under its belt and many of the players know what it takes to win the EuroLeague. However, Fenerbahce has built a head of steam in recent years and it seems fate wants the Turkish side to sit at the top of European hoops. There is also the fact that the Final Four is taking place in Istanbul, sure to fuel the romanticism for Fenerbahce.

CSKA Moscow vs. Olympiacos Piraeus, 78-82

It started earlier in the day as the Istanbul crowd and those gathered from around the globe watched Olympiacos topple CSKA Moscow. The defeat ended the reign of the Russians as champions and sent the Greek giant to the final. Olympiacos is now hunting its first Turkish Airlines EuroLeague since 2013 and its fourth overall.

CSKA controlled the first quarter and carved out an 18-12 lead and then extended to 40-33 through the long break. The champs’ key men like Nando De Colo and Milos Teodosic were ticking, but soon Olympiacos’ mean defence started making strides. The Greek’s drained 27 points to reduce the lead to 64-60 through thirty minutes. In the deciding frame, the momentum stayed with the Piraeus contingent and the game was settled with a 14-22 score.

Kostas Papanikolaou, Georgios Printezis, and Vassilis Spanoulis all scored 14 points.

Teodosic topped the scoring with 23 points, and Nando De Colo managed 16 points.

Fenerbahce Istanbul vs. Real Madrid, 84-75

With one of the “favourites” vanquished, the stage was set for Fenerbahce to take on Real Madrid in a romantic clash. This was a game between the winningest EuroLeague club (Madrid’s 9 titles), against Fener’s zero titles. However, the Turkish club finished runner-up last season and has settled nicely into a seat at the elite of European Basketball.

And so it showed on Friday as Fenerbahce roared into a 21-13 lead and looked in control through the second with a 23-21 frame that made it 44-34 through halftime. Fenerbahce maintained the form in the third act with a 19-16 run that made it 63-50 through thirty minutes. The inevitable Real Madrid burst came in the fourth quarter, but ultimately Los Blancos was nowhere near to catching Fenerbahce.

Ekpe Udoh was Friday’s best player with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Bogdan Bogdanovic secured 14 points and 6 boards.

Sergio Lllull tried to spur Real Madrid with a majestic 28 points and 7 assists, while Jaycee Carroll added 21 points. Despite registering over 40 minutes between them, Dontaye Draper, Rudy Fernandez, and Luka Doncic all failed to score.