Road to London: Olympiacos Piraeus

It was not been an easy road to the Final Four for the defending champions, but Olympiacos BC Piraeus has managed to win all critical games this season, both at home and on the court, to make it to the London and try to beat just the second team to defend the Turkish Airlines Euroleague title in the last two decades. Olympiacos kept most of the core players that led the team to Euroleague glory in 2011-12 but struggled early, losing 2 of its opening 3 games. A seven-game winning streak that included victories in Vitoria, Milano and Kaunas allowed Olympiacos to seal a Top 16 spot in style. Once in the new, expanded Top 16, Olympiacos had a 1-3 start but managed to fight back. Starting with a big road triumph in Tel Aviv, Olympiacos went on to win 6 of the next 7 games, including direct opponents like BC Khimki Moscow Region, Montepaschi Siena and Caja Laboral Vitoria. A pivotal home win in the Top 16 finale against Khimki allowed the Reds to get the home court advantage in the playoffs against Anadolu Efes Istanbul, which happened to be decisive. Olympiacos fought for it all season and when Efes forced Game 5, the Reds, pushed by an incredible crowd, managed to down the Turkish powerhouse to punch its ticket to London. The Reds are ready to keep fighting and already proved that last season's success is far from being a coincidence.

Regular season Game 8

Olympiacos makes 14 of 27 three-point shots to hand Zalgiris Kaunas its first home loss of the season, 63-77. Vassilis Spanoulis shows the way with 16 points and 6 assists while Kostas Papanikolaou adds 13 points.

Top 16 Game 5

Following a 1-3 start in Top 16 Group F, Olympiacos edges Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv on the road 77-78, rallying from a six-point deficit in the game's final 3 minutes. Spanoulis scores 8 points, including the go-ahead jumper, in crunch time.

Top 16 Game 14

On a night when Olympiacos needs both to reach the playoffs and secure home-court advantage in them, Papanikolaou buries 6 of 6 three-pointers for 21 points and 12 rebounds in a 79-70 home win against Khimki Moscow Region.

Playoffs Game 1

Despite trailing most of the way, Olympiacos holds on to beat Anadolu Efes Istanbul 67-62 and open the playoffs on the right foot. Georgios Printezis stars with 26 points and Kyle Hines grabs a key offensive rebound to secure the win.

Playoffs Game 5

A slow start puts Olympiacos 15 points behind Efes early, but the Reds rally after halftime and go ahead for good on Spanoulis's layup with 4 minutes left, keeping their chance at winning back-to-back titles alive until London!

Euroleague.net