Olympiacos-Real Madrid: The EuroLeague playoffs get underway
Our team will be seeking the first point of the best-of-five playoff in Athens this evening (8:30 pm CEST).
Real Madrid and Olympiacos are set to lock horns in Athens tonight as they start out in their EuroLeague quarter-final playoff. A best-of-five series between two giants of European basketball that hold 14 European Cups between them (11 for the madridistas and 3 for the Greeks). Our team will be hoping to get off on the right foot with victory in the first clash of the week at the Peace and Friendship Stadium (as well as in Friday's game) to take back home-court advantage.
Athens is the only obstacle on the route to the Final Four in Abu Dhabi. The madridistas and the Greeks go head-to-head in the latest chapter of one of the continent's greatest rivalries, with a semi-final spot at stake. The first meeting between the two teams came in the FIBA European Champions Cup 1978/79. Since then, they've met 54 times, with a favourable record for our boys, 29 to 25. Among those encounters, three finals won by Madrid (1995, 2015 and 2023) and one by Olympiacos (2013). This will be the third time they cross paths in the EuroLeague quarters. In 2008/09, Olympiacos came out on top, while Madrid were victorious in 2013/14.
Home-court advantage lies with Olympiacos after they finished first in the Regular Season. Bartzokas' boys have been the standout team in the competition, but they did lose three of their last five. Real Madrid won all of their final five in the opening phase and the second Play-In encounter against Bayern. It's sure to be a tie decided by fine margins, a matchup between two fully loaded squads. Vezenkov and Fournier, their two big signings, are key for a very physical outfit, while they boast real quality in the likes of Peters, McKissic, Williams-Goss, Vildoza and Walkup.
Experience overturning home-court advantage
The madridistas possess the talent to win in Piraeus, but they know they'll have to be consistent and work as a team. They hold the best rebound and highest two-point percentage (59.4). Madrid also have experience coming through a tie with home-court advantage against them. Back in 2017/18, they did just that against Panathinaikos. They lost the opener, before winning the next three, as Llull returned from injury and they went on to lift their tenth European Cup in Belgrade. Tonight, our team is fully focused on winning the first game of the series in Athens.