Olympiacos – FC Barcelona: Out in the dying seconds (71-68)

Olympiacos – FC Barcelona: Out in the dying seconds (71-68)

Barça put in a solid performance in Athens but it is not enough as Printezis' last gasp three pointer sees the Greeks through to the Final Four

The end was cruel when it came. FC Barcelona miss out on a place in the Final Four in Madrid after they were unable to force a fifth game in Euroleague quarter-final against Olympiacos with a painful defeat in the very last seconds in Athens. A three pointer from hero Printezis in the final throes of a game that was tied at 68-68 sees the Greeks through the last stages of the competition with a 3-1 win in the tie against Barça.

Good start for the visitors

Abrines came into the starting five and he repaid the faith shown in him by coach Xavi Pascual with an excellent performance in the first quarter that ended with the blaugranes 17-16 up. Two three pointers from the man from the Balearics gave the visitors a solid start to the game and in the second quarter their lead was stretched to eight points by another three pointer from Navarro and a basket right on half time from Lampe. At the break Barça led by 37-29 and there was plenty of room for optimism.

Greek fightback and heartbreak for Barça

However, in the second half Olympiacos dragged themselves back into the contest with an excellent third quarter performance. Petway and Spanoulis led the home side and they brought it back level at 50-50. Doellman, Satoransky and Pleiss combined to give the blaugranes the scent of victory with a lead of 65-61 with little over a minute left. The home side surged back in front only for Navarro to level things up at 68 all from the free throw line. The contest seemed to be headed for overtime before Printezis broke blaugrana hearts with his last ditch three pointer.

Força Barça
Força Barça

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