The pilot who flew “Olympiakos” grabbed the trumpet, the Catalans were pulling their hair: we got together

The guests won the decisive fifth game of the series on Wednesday 63:59.

“What a gift to our club. You deserve a lot, you are already champions”, coach G. Bartzokas praised the players in the dressing room after the match, receiving praise from the owners’ brothers Giorgo and Panagiotis Angelopoulou, who traveled to the capital of Catalonia with the team.

Congratulations also flowed from Greece: not only the former captain Georgios Printezis called and wrote to the winners, but also another OLY legend Vassilis Spanoulis – although the latter now coaches the rival club Peristeri in Athens.

But G. Bartzokas also crossed the usual barricade, not being proud at the press conference and congratulating the main rivals of Athens “Panathinaikos”, who made it to the final four a day earlier.

“It’s very important that there are two Greek teams there, given the names on the sidelines. We will prepare for the decisive competition leaving aside any mutual disputes”, said the 58-year-old specialist, for whom the final four in Berlin (Germany) will be the fifth in his career.

Olympiakos fans may not all think the same way as the coach, but for now they are cheering the same way. Even in the early hours of the morning, a large group of fans gathered in Athens to welcome their loved ones who had flown in from Spain.

And during the trip, the team was surprised by the pilot of the plane, who briefly left his cockpit to play the anthem of Olympiakos with a trumpet.

The camp of the losers was much quieter.

Last summer’s overhaul Barcelona surprised many with a confident performance in the regular season, finishing fourth, but ultimately had to admit failure.

“This is a difficult, stressful day. It all came down to a few three-pointers in the fourth quarter. I feel very, very bad. We fought back, but now there is no other way out than to recover in the Spanish Championship”, coach Roger Grimau sighed.

“We got together, after all we all dreamed of the final four”, seconded sniper Alex Abrines.

In the last match of the series, I. Brazdeikis remained an observer again, Barcelona’s Lithuanian Rokas Jokubaitis was satisfied with 7 minutes of play and 2 points and 2 assists.

In the semi-finals, Olympiakos will be able to try to settle the score with Real Madrid (Spain), who lost the title last year in Kaunas, while Panathinaikos will play against Istanbul Fenerbahçe (Turkey).

The final four will be held in Berlin on May 24-26.