Six years later, Olympiacos will return to a Euroleague final, a prize for its wonderful season, even if it had to undergo a radical transformation at the Zalgirio Arena. Because the Final Four does not forgive naps. A historic 27-2 run in the third quarter lifted Giorgios Bartzonas' men against debutant Monaco. [76-62: Narration and Statistics]

It was as difficult to believe the Greek resurrection after passing through the changing rooms as it had been its gray staging, when they, the Sloukas, Papanikolau, Vezenkov and company are presupposed to experience in these levels. But his reaction, leaving Mike James stiff and the Roca Team unable to respond, left no room for doubt: on Sunday they await Real Madrid or Barcelona in the final, in search of their fourth continental crown 10 years after the last .

The audacity of the rookie, a wild group based on talent and physique, was unleashed in a first part of astonishment. It was Sasha Obradovic's men who felt comfortable on a stage that they had never set foot on as a club. Neither do most of its stars. If the stands, completely rojiblancas, looked like Piraeus -as the streets of Kaunas looked like Athens all day-, Monaco advanced on the field as if it were in the coquettish Salle Gaston Medecin. So dangerously that he stood at half-time with a distance not dreamed of.

Vezenkov and Sloukas

The attack was the problem of Olympiacos. Specialist John Brown had held down MVP Vezenkov and every point was a drama for the Greeks while Monaco's outside trio began to warm up, with Mike James leading the way.. An exchange at the end of the first act and a small reaction at the beginning of the second relieved those of Bartzokas, although their big problem was yet to come. Jordan Loyd, Okobo and James set off the alarms. Without pressure, with a lot of success and nerves in the rival (9 of 18 in free throws in Olympiacos) and a 29-41 score.

But determined teams erase their affronts with a stroke of the pen. Rest was the Greek spring. In the blink of an eye, Monaco had been completely paralyzed.. The Zalgirio Arenas roared before the party on the parquet, commanded by an unleashed Vezenkov, well escorted by Papanikolau and the immensity of Fall. Monaco's possessions were running out before the Athenian aggressiveness. Just a basket, a dunk from Okobo in transition, in a third act that was his grave. An absolute disaster, a rookie mistake: it was the worst scoring mark in a quarter in Final Four history.

Because Olympiacos was no longer going to doubt, aware, now, of the historic opportunity before it. Mike James had long since disappeared and Sloukas was the lord and master of everything that happened on the court.

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