Panathinaikos edged Olympiacos in dramatic semifinal in Berlin

Mike Batiste (Photo: Euroleague.net)

02-05-2009 01:16

Panathinaikos bested archrival Olympiacos Piraeus 82-84 in a memorable second semifinal of the 2009 Euroleague Basketball Final Four on Friday evening at the o2 World in Berlin. The Greens advance to face defending champion CSKA Moscow in a rematch of the 2007 title game on Sunday. Panathinaikos edged CSKA for the crown that season in Athens.

In front of an electric crowd, the game lived up to all its billing and came down to the final shot. But Ioannis Bourousis missed in the final seconds and Josh Childress couldn’t hit the follow-up as the Greens celebrated a big win.

Panathinaikos enjoyed a well-balanced attack led by Nikola Pekovic with 20 points. Mike Batiste added 19, while Vassilis Spanoulis and Sarunas Jasikevicius netted 18 apiece.

On Sunday Panathinaikos will aim to lift its fifth Euroleague crown, which would place it in a tie for the third most in the Euroleague. Zeljko Obradovic, the winningest head coach in Euroleague history, will target a record seventh title; team captain Fragiskos Alvertis will try for his fifth Euroleague championship, tying him for the second most ever; while Sarunas Jasikevicius tries to become the first player to win the Euroleague with three different teams.

Meanwhile Olympiacos, which will face Regal FC Barcelona in the third-place game, got 18 points from Lynn Greer, 14 from Nikola Vujcic, 11 from Childress and 10 from Bourousis.

FULL STATS FROM THE OLYMIACOS - PANATHINAIKOS GAME