By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With Kostas Papanikolaou scoring 23 points (5/7 3-pointers, including a crazy half-court buzzer beater at HT) and grabbing 7 rebounds, Olympiacos beat Aris 84 – 77 in “Nick Galis Hall” of Thessaloniki making the 2 – 0 in the semifinal series.
Vassilis Spanoulis added 19 points plus 8 assists, Khem Birch a double-double of 11 points/14 rebounds and Giorgos Printezis 10 for the fiery Reds that blazed from downtown with 16/34.
Minus Vassilis Kavvadas and Justin Jackson, Aris couldn’t hold back its opponents, despite the 16 points by Will Cummings or the 14 plus 7 rebounds Tadija Dragisevic notched.
Coach Priftis’ players went ahead 44 – 43 in the beginning of the second half but the visiting squad responded with a 0 – 12 run and then increased its lead to 16, 46 – 62.
Olympiacos preserved a double-digit advantage and practically victory when it made the 62 – 78 with 5 minutes remaining, a margin that proved to be too much for its opponents.