2000-01 SEMIFINALS - 2000-01 - Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL

February 10, 2012

2000-01 SEMIFINALS

Kinder Bologna and Tau Ceramica survived their respective best-of-five Euroleague Semifinal Playoffs against Paf Bologna and AEK to keep fighting for the top continental title. Both teams reached the finals undefeated and in great shape. In fact, Tau knocked off three Greek teams - Peristeri, Olympiakos and AEK - and stole the home court advantage in each series. Tau opened the semifinals with a reply game, downing AEK 65-90 behind 39 points on 13-of-13 shooting, including 9-of-9 three-pointers - a career-best scoring night for one of the best European players of his generation. Tau kept its momentum going with a 67-70 road win in Game 2 with 25 points from Elmer Bennett and sealed its ticket to the final by downing AEK 76-62 in Game 3 behind 16 points from Victor Alexander. In the Bologna derby, Kinder overwhelmed Paf 103-76 in Game 1 behind 22 points from Manu Ginobili. Kinder went on to defeat Paf 92-84 in Game 2 and once again Ginobili led the winners with 22 points. Kinder rallied from a 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to edge Paf 70-74 in Game 3. Ginobili and Rashard Griffith each had 17 points to lead Kinder in one of the most outstanding comebacks in recent European club basketball history.

SEMIFINAL PLAYOFFS GAME 1

Virtus and Tau took the lead in their respective best-of-five Euroleague Semifinal Playoffs series with respective wins against Paf and AEK. It took a lot of controversy for Tau to win Game 1, that had to be repeated as the game-winning shot by Demos Dikoudis of AEK came second after the buzzer. In the replay game, Saulius Stombergas downed 9-of-9 three-pointers and had 39 points to lead Tau to a 65-90 road win. In the Bologna derby, Virtus thrashed Paf 103-76 behind 22 points from Manu Ginobili. Virtus led 52-31 at halftime and never looked back.

SEMIFINAL PLAYOFFS GAME 2

Virtus and Tau got within one win to reaching the Euroleague Finals, as both teams have a 2-0 lead in their respective best-of-five series against Paf and AEK. Virtus defeated Paf 92-84 at Palamalaguti with 22 points and 6 steals from Manu Ginobili. Rashard Griffith added 17 points and 17 rebounds for Kinder. In Athens, Tau topped AEK 67-70 in Game 2. Elmer Bennett paced the winners with 25 points while Victor Alexander added 14 against his former team. Tau got a 51-56 margin after 30 minutes and stayed focused in the final 2 minutes to get a big win.

SEMIFINAL PLAYOFFS GAME 3

Tau and Virtus made it to the Euroleague Finals! Both teams swept their respective best-of-five semifinal series against AEK and Paf and got ready to battle each other for the first Euroleague title. Tau did not find much trouble to beat AEK 76-62. Victor Alexander led the winners with 16 points while Luis Scola and Fabricio Oberto each added 15 for Tau. Meanwhile, Virtus rallied from an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to knock off Paf 70-74 in Basket City. Manu Ginobili and Rashard Griffith each had 17 points for Kinder, leading a one-of-a-king comeback.

PLAYOFFS