Thanks to a basket from Sergio Llull three seconds from the buzzer, Real Madrid won their eleventh Euroleague title by the narrowest of margins against Olympiakos (78-79).
Real Madrid is unsinkable! Facing Olympiakos after a final with a crazy scenario, the Merengues went to seek their eleventh Euroleague title and can thank Sergio Llull. On the floor of the Zalgirio Arena, this final began with a crossover between the two teams. However, under the impetus of Isaiah Canaan (21 points), it was the Greeks who took the lead.
A 10-1 in just under two minutes led by Sasha Vezenkov (29 points, 9 rebounds) allowed Olympiakos to stand out a little more on the scoreboard, counting up to twelve lengths in advance. However, Rudy Fernandez (3 points) then Mario Hezonja (12 points) replied to leave Real Madrid in contact after the first quarter. On their way, the people of Madrid came closer to three lengths at the start of the second quarter before signing a 7-0 which allowed them to pass in front of the score six minutes from halftime.
Olympiakos has long led
The two teams again went blow for blow but a three-point shot by Dzanan Musa (6 points) gave the Spaniards a five-point lead with two minutes left to play. However, a final three-point shot from Shaquielle McKissic (14 points) finally allowed Olympiakos to reach half-time with the score tied. Back on the floor, the protégés of Georgios Bartzokas let the storm pass before taking control thanks to the Canaan-Vezenkov doublet.
Real Madrid then strived to stay in contact, even equalizing two minutes from the end of the third quarter thanks to two free throws from Nigel Williams-Goss (9 points). It was without counting on Kostas Sloukas (6 points), which allowed Olympiakos to lead by four lengths at the start of an unbreathable last quarter. Indeed, during these ten minutes, it was the players from Piraeus who were in the lead.
Llull sacre Real Madrid
But they’ve never been able to put themselves out of reach of a Real Madrid side who know how to turn a game around at the last moment. Taking advantage of Fabien Causeur’s long-range address (11 points), Chus Mateo’s players have never been more than seven points behind. In a bewildering end to the game, Sergio Rodriguez passed a two-point basket for another three-pointer to bring Los Merengues to just one length with 46 seconds on the clock.
Moustapha Fall (0 points, 5 rebounds) had the match point in his hands but did not find the target. Sergio Llull (2 points), he did not shake three seconds from the buzzer. After watching Kostas Sloukas miss a desperate shot at the last second, the Real Madrid bench gloated. Thanks to this success by the smallest of margins (78-79), the club from the Spanish capital adds an eleventh Euroleague to its list and put an end to five years of waiting, forgetting at the same time his defeat against Anadolu Efes Istanbul last season.
