Credit: Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images
Credit Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Olympiacos Piraeus became the fourth and last team to book a trip to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Belgrade.

Player of the Game
Shaquielle  McKissic
EFF
24
Shaquielle McKissic
Points 18
Accuracy 6-7
Rebounds 2
Assists 2

In front of Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant and backed by a roaring crowd, the hosts took down AS Monaco 94-88 (11-13, 30-35, 25-22, 28-18).

Oly will return to F4 after a five-year break. Their upcoming rivals are reigning EuroLeague champions Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

Sasha Vezenkov and Kostas Sloukas tied the game at 75 at the start of the fourth quarter. Sloukas continued his successful play and Oly were up by three (84-81) with 3:40 to go.

Both clubs exchanged with efficient attacks, while Kostas Sloukas nailed a three-point dagger (89-83). Though, Mike James answered Oly on the other end (86-89). The same Sloukas converted both shots from the line and Olympiacos led 91-86 with 1:40 to play.

Will Thomas scored a duo (88-91) but Tyler Dorsey sank a bomb from deep (94-88). Olympiacos got a couple of crucial stops and secured a W.

Clutch Kostas Sloukas finished the duel with 15 points (1/3 2PT, 2/2 3PT, 7/8 FT), 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 turnovers, and 22 PIR.

Shaquielle McKissic had 18 points (4/4 2PT, 2/3 3PT, 4/4 FT), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, and 24 PIR.

"Congratulations to our team and the whole club for this amazing achievement. I would like also to express my respect for Monaco. They also deserve to go to the Final Four; it was a really tough series.

We had to control our emotions during the game, but we were prepared for this – we spoke about it in the locker room before the game and again at halftime. We were sure it would be a 40-minute game," commented Georgios Bartzokas post-game.

Mike James posted a double-double for the losing side, accumulating 24 points (4/7 2PT, 2/10 3PT, 10/11 FT), 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 turnovers, and 26 PIR.

"Congratulations to Olympiacos. They deserve to go to the Final Four, and not just because of this game. Because they have a group of people who really invest their time and patience to make this program go to the end. We are at the beginning of building something," spoke Sasa Obradovic.

The first half was all about X-factors. Paris Lee and Yakuba Ouattara combined for 7 out of 8 Monaco's 3-pointers, scoring 24 points in total.

On the other side, Shaquielle McKissic registered 16 points in the second quarter and kept his team within the fighting distance. Though, Monaco led 48-41 at halftime.

Led by Thomas Walkup, Olympiacos spurted 11-2 and took the upper hand (56-55). However, the success was temporary, as Danilo Andjusic fired up at the end of the third period, scoring five points in a row.

Moreover, Mike James sank a three-pointer at the buzzer and gave his team a 4-point cushion (70-66) before the last 10 minutes of the game.

Olympiacos: Shaquielle McKissic 18, Thomas Walkup 17, Tyler Dorsey 16, Kostas Sloukas 15 (5 REB, 5 AST).

Monaco: Mike James 24 (10 AST), Yakuba Outtara 15, Paris Lee 14, Dwayne Bacon 12.

Crazy basketball night in Piraeus:

Game highlights:

Comments:
Ben
Great game, amazing atmosphere. Sloukas and Walkup played at a very high level, and McKissic came out of nowhere to save them during the second quarter. The offense of Monaco is too predictable to consistently score in the crunch: iso James, iso Bacon... That's just not enough at this level. Big shout-out to Paris Lee and Ouattara who played great today. Mike James what a player as well. Bacon has the potential to become a Euroleague star, but he must control his nerve. I also have to highlights a couple of tough calls on Monaco, especially one drive at the end of the 3rd where Martin clearly extends his arm yet gets the foul, and one foul on Ouattara which sends Sloukas to the line to give them a 5 point lead. But overall, congrats to Olympiacos, I believe they can beat Efes, and a huge huge bravo to Monaco for an excellent first euroleague season ! Can't wait for the final 4 !
2022-05-04
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Olympiacos Piraeus
AS Monaco
60%
31/52
Field goals
46%
30/65
26
Rebounds
31
18
Assists
16
2
Steals
5
17
Fouls
27
69%
20/29
2-pointers
50%
17/34

Best players

Shaquielle  McKissic
18 PTS
6/7 FG
4/4 FT
Mike  James
24 PTS
6/17 FG
10/11 FT
Aleksandr  Vezenkov
7 REB
7 DREB
0 OREB
Will  Thomas
8 REB
5 DREB
3 OREB
Konstantinos  Sloukas
5 As
3 TO
20 MIN
Mike  James
10 As
2 TO
35 MIN
Shaquielle  McKissic
24 EFF
100% 2P%
67% 3P%
Mike  James
26 EFF
57% 2P%
20% 3P%