With Olympiacos Piraeus dominating rivals Panathinaikos OPAP Athens 36-20 in the second quarter of Game 1 of the Greek finals and less than two minutes remaining until the break, Shaquille McKissic tried to score in transition. 

After a chaotic start and a game delay, Olympiacos Piraeus comfortably defeated Panathinaikos OPAP Athens 74-61 (23-4, 15-16, 17-18, 19-23) to take Game 1 of the Greek Basketball League's finals.

The Olympiacos Piraeus - Panathinaikos OPAP Athens basketball rivalries are always fiery and emotional. Game 1 of the Greek Basketball League finals was not an exception.

The 29-year-old Olympiacos Piraeus guard Giannoulis Larentzakis shared his thoughts to the Greek Basketball League‘s website before the upcoming finals matchup against Panathinaikos OPAP Athens.

Before concluding his last press conference at the EuroLeague Final Four in Belgrade, Giorgos Bartzokas was asked a question about the possible changes in Olympiacos Piraeus' roster ahead of next season.

In Game 3 of the Greek league semifinals, Olympiacos Piraeus crushed Promitheas Patras' 106-69 (26-19, 24-14, 30-20, 26-16) and became the first finalist of the league.

Olympiacos crushed Promitheas Patras' resistance on the road and took a 2-0 lead in the semifinals of the Greek league. Coach Bartzokas's side won with the final score of 102-72 (20-18, 26-13, 29-22, 27-19). 

Tyler Dorsey is willing to play for the Greek national team in EuroBasket 2022, according to George Zakkas of SDNA.gr.

Olympiacos Piraeus kicked off the best-of-five semifinal series in the Greek Basketball League on a high note, demolishing Promitheas Patras 116-73 (24-19, 29-13, 36-14, 27-27) and taking a 1-0 lead.

Olympiacos Piraeus cruised past their opponents in the Greek Basketball League's quarterfinals. Now, they are set to meet Promitheas Patras in the semifinal.

In contrast to what had happened 48 hours earlier, Olympiacos Piraeus showed the energy and the will to not allow Peristeri any room for upset. The Reds had an easy evening in Game 2 that took place in Western Athens, getting a blowout win by 92-57 (29-13, 22-9, 23-14, 18-21) and punching their ticket for the Greek playoff semifinals, where they will be facing Promitheas Patras in a best-of-five series. 

Both Greek powerhouses Olympiacos Piraeus and Panathinaikos Athens pursue the EuroCup standout Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, sources say BasketNews.

Olympiacos Piraeus needed a good last quarter to beat Peristeri 79-67 (11-20, 17-15, 23-19, 28-13) and make it 1-0 in the Greek Basket League quarter-finals.

Greek side Olympiacos are already beginning to plan their transfer market for this summer and they have set their sights on an important player. 

Sarunas Jasikevicius bid farewell to his old-time opponent and EuroLeague legend Giorgos Printezis, who played his last game in the Final Four at Belgrade.

Evan Fournier attended the final day of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Discussions on EuroLeague's future are ongoing, as the competition is looking into the possibility of introducing a salary cap.

Talks about EuroLeague's 3rd place game being completely unnecessary have been going on for years, but the noise coming from Olympiacos Piraeus fans made sure that this season such discussions would be shut for good.

The regular-season leaders FC Barcelona bounced back in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Third Place Game at Stark Arena by taking down Olympiacos Piraeus, 84-74 (20-18, 25-20, 17-18, 22-18).

Although the 2022 EuroLeague Final Four is not quite over yet, Olympiacos Piraeus are looking to finish the season strong.

Olympiacos Piraeus head coach Georgios Bartzokas was really sad after the loss against Anadolu Efes in the semifinals of the EuroLeague Final Four, but he was proud of the players and what they did this season.

"Unfortunately it was really tough night for us," Bartzokas started his press conference. "We competed really hard against EuroLeague champions and we believe that we should win this game if we could have some better decisions."

"Some players don't have experience in those kinds of games and that cost us. It is a really tough night for our team and our fans but at the same time I had to tell them that we are proud of them," he added.

Bartzokas summarized the successful season of his team.

"We came here after a long period without participating in Final Four and we showed everybody that we deserve to be here," he continued. "We had a fantastic season and the only thing I can say is just to give credit to our players, to the whole organization and our fans for this year. Olympiacos came back to the highest level of EuroLeague and we're going to stay there."

Anadolu Efes Istanbul advanced to their back-to-back Turkish Airlines EuroLeague final by defeating Olympiacos Piraeus in a tough semifinal fight at Stark Arena, 77-74 (18-21, 24-22, 24-20, 11-11).

The reigning champs will meet one of the Spanish powerhouses in the ultimate match of the competition, either FC Barcelona or Real Madrid. While today's loss sends the team coached by Georgios Bartzokas to the third-place game, which will open Saturday's schedule at the Stark Arena.

The real drama began in the last quarter. It was all about defense. Both clubs couldn't score a single bucket for more than four minutes.

Efes maintained a 3-point lead (73-70) with 2 minutes remaining. Shaquielle McKissic missed a driving layup, while Larkin made just one of two free throws (74-70) with 1:16 to go.

Kostas Sloukas answered with a pair of free throws and cut the deficit to 2 with one minute remaining. Adrien Moerman missed an open three, while Hassan Martin tied the game with a driving layup (74-74) with 20 seconds remaining.

The last possession belonged to last year's MVP Vasilije Micic who sank a last second 3-pointer to send Efes to the EuroLeague final.

Giorgos Bartzokas became the latest recipient of the EuroLeague Coach of the Year award, as the Greek tactician won the accolade for the second time in his career after 2013.

Olympiacos Piraeus' mastermind received the award named after the legendary coach Alexander Gomelski from Nena Ivkovic, the wife of the late coaching legend Dusan Ivkovic who had won the EuroLeague with the Greek side in 2012.

The Reds are preparing for their Final Four semi-final game against Anadolu Efes Istanbul, having three award-winning members in their ranks.

Forward Sasha Vezenkov and guard Kostas Sloukas were chosen to the All-EuroLeague First and Second Team, respectively, in addition to Sloukas racking up another accolade, the 'Magic Moment of the Year' award, thanks to his buzzer-beating 3-point shot against no other than Anadolu Efes in Piraeus.

While paying a visit to the Stark Arena mixed zone, Olympiacos' players answered BasketNews' questions regarding their award-winning coach.

"He deserves the award 100%," Sloukas said.

"He is the man who put this team together and dreamed of it, putting his touch, and now we all celebrate together that we are in the four best teams in Europe. But we don't stop here."

In a similar vein, Sasha Vezenkov pointed out that everyone on the team is happy because we are a family, a team with excellent chemistry.

"As I made the All-Euroleague First team, Kostas Sloukas made the second, so we're all happy about our coach being voted as the best because it's a team sport. One's success is another person's happiness.

He's teaching us, and he's giving us advice. He's always there for us. Like a family, we have some ups and downs," the Bulgarian forward continued.

EuroLeague Final Four will tip off on Thursday evening, and BasketNews asked its experts' opinion on which teams will advance to the grand final and win it all.

For those who missed, FC Barcelona will meet Real Madrid, while Anadolu Efes Istanbul will face Olympiacos Piraeus in the EuroLeague semifinals.

BasketNews members see a clear favorite in Belgrade's Final Four that has received more than three times as many votes as all three other teams combined.

How will the EuroLeague Final Four unfold? For your attention, the guesses of BasketNews experts.

FC Barcelona (1) vs. Real Madrid (4)

• Uygar Karaca: Real
• Lukas Katilius: Barcelona
• Pijus Sapetka: Barcelona
• Giorgos Kyriakidis: Barcelona
• Jonas Leksas: Real
• Orazio Cauchi: Real
• Edvinas Jablonskis: Barcelona
• Lukas Malinauskas: Barcelona
• Mindaugas Bertys: Real
• Miguel Lois Vidal: Barcelona
• Gustavas Klikna: Barcelona
• Jonas Miklovas: Barcelona
• Karolis Tiskevicius: Barcelona
• Martynas Ziurys: Barcelona
• Florian Kurth: Barcelona
• Tomas Vanagas: Barcelona
• Donatas Urbonas: Barcelona
• Deividas Silanskas: Barcelona

Final tally: Barcelona 14, Real 4.

In 2014 Olympiacos fans required Georgios Bartzokas' resignation next to Peace and Friendship Stadium after a domestic cup loss to Panathinaikos.

Olympiacos were on a bad stretch, and fans blamed their head coach.

Bartzokas, a die-hard Olympiacos fan since childhood, didn't want to hurt his team and left.

Eight years later, he's in the Final Four with Olympiacos and the best coach of the year award in his hands, waiting for the army of Reds fans to boost them for the title race.

His peers selected Georgios Bartzokas as the best coach of the 2021-22 EuroLeague season on the eve of the Final Four.

Asked by BasketNews about his journey through hate and love in Piraeus, Bartzokas emphasized the team effort first.

"Honestly, I don't want to talk about myself. It's a team effort. We're here all together. Our fans, our presidents. We represent our city and our club. We're all together fighting for this goal," Bartzokas said in the official Final Four press conference.

"Everybody knows in Greece that I'm an Olympiacos fan, and I know exactly what Olympiacos means. It means passion, but sometimes extreme feelings in a good or a bad way," Bartzokas smiled. "Right now, we're in a good way, but you never know what life brings to us. I'm just happy for the moment."

The 2022 Final Four in Belgrade will probably be Giorgos Printezis' career-last.

The emblematic Olympiacos Piraeus' captain is competing in his sixth tournament, which could hand him his third EuroLeague trophy. In order for his side to do that, they must get past reigning champs Anadolu Efes Istanbul in Thursday's semi-final.

Printezis joined Olympiacos in 2002 and when presenter Joe Arlauckas mentioned it at the beginning of the inaugural press conference, the 36-year forward joked about it.

"After 20 years, it doesn’t sound so good," he said with a smile. 

"It’s a very big honor and privilege to be here. Also,for our fans. Of course, it’s not so easy because our first goal wasn’t the Final Four. We had to fight hard to get here. I am happy, like my team," he said.

Olympiacos have won the last five semifinal games, starting from 2010. Printezis was a part of the team in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017, when the Reds eliminated Barcelona and CSKA Moscow the other three times to reach the final game.

"Sometimes, we used to talk about Final Fours. But all players know what they mean and what it takes to being the team here. Our coach, Sloukas and Papanikolaou have the Final Four experience and give others some advice, but I think they know the way."

Olympiacos' captain was asked about the differences between every Final Four he's been a part of. 

"Every Final Four is different," he replied.

"There’s always anxiety and you have to reach your goal. One difference is that Olympiacos have had three different version. First, we had a very big budget and renown players. Then, in 2012-13, we had a low budget and got back-to-back EuroLeagues.

Now, we have a young new team, with the exception of me, Kostas Sloukas and Papanikolaou, we started from scratch to get to the Final Four."

Olympiacos' fans are expected to be the overwhelming majority at the Final Four and Printezis knows how big of an impact their support can have on the team. 

"Fans will give us more energy. They have done it all season long. They haven’t put any pressure on us," he said.

Fans became the protagonists in Game 5 against AS Monaco that sealed the Red's Final Four ticket.

"It was amazing. I understand that it wasn’t the right way for the game to finish, but the emotions after two years of COVID were very intense. I hope that we will give them more positive feelings in this Final Four," Printezis concluded.

During the official ceremony in Belgrade, there was the official announcement for the Coach of The Year Award. For Greek head coach Georgios Bartzokas it was his second Coach of The Year award after the one that he won back in 2013. 

Olympiacos ended the regular season in the second place and in the playoff series they overcame the French side AS Monaco in 5 games. 

Coach Bartzokas returned to Olympiacos back in 2020 after spending two seasons with Russian side Khimki. 

Bartzokas already won a EuroLeague title with Olympiacos back in 2013 and now hopes to win another one in Belgrade.