February 09, 2012
PHASE PAGES: Playoff 2004-05
EB PlayoffsPanathinaikos, Tau Ceramica, CSKA Moscow and defending champion Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv reached the 2005 Final Four by surviving their respective Quarterfinal Playoff series. The playoffs were introduced this season, adding drama, excitement and outstanding games in the long road of the Final Four. Tau was the only team to overcome the home court advantage, downing Benetton 0-2 in its series. Luis Scola had 34 points on 15-for-16 two-pointers in a massive 59-98 road win in Game 1 and had the go-ahead basket in the final seconds of Game 2. Maccabi and CSKA also swept their respective best-of-three series against Scavolini Pesaro and Ulker. Maccabi advanced to the Final Four with a thrilling 100-103 road win Game 2 behind 26 points from Nikola Vujcic. Meanwhile, CSKA reached its third consecutive Final Four by thrashing Ulker 64-82 in Game 2. Panathinaikos needed all three games to down Efes Pilsen 2-1. All three games were won by the home team, but Game 1, in which Panathinaikos edged Efes Pilsen 102-96 in Athens, became an instant classic.

REGULAR SEASON TOP 16 PLAYOFFS FINAL FOUR
Luis Scola - Tau Ceramica
 QUARTERFINAL PLAYOFFS GAME 1
The playoffs started with two convincing home wins, an overtime thriller and a road warrior providing a major upset. Maccabi Elite got one win away from reaching the Final Four by thrashing Scavolini Pesaro 88-60 at home. Sarunas Jasikevicius led a very balanced Maccabi offense with 18 points on 4-for-4 three-pointers. Marko Milic had 16 points for Scavolini in defeat. CSKA did not find much trouble to down Ulker 88-74 in Game 1 in Moscow behind 16 points from Marcus Brown. CSKA led all the way in the second half. Panathinaikos had to battle for 45 minutes to edge Efes Pilsen 102-96 in Athens. Jaka Lakovic led the winners with 26 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer in overtime. Henry Domercant led Efes Pilsen with 29 points and forced overtime with a follow-up layup on the fourth-quarter buzzer. Tau shocked everyone by simply ovewhelming Benetton 59-98 in Treviso. Luis Scola took over with 34 points on 15-for-16 two-pointers, giving Tau the chance to keep fighting to reach its first Final Four.
Nikola Vujcic - Maccabi
 QUARTERFINAL PLAYOFFS GAME 2
Maccabi Elite, Tau Ceramica and CSKA Moscow made it to the 2005 Euroleague Final Four, while Efes Pilsen bounced back from its Game 1 loss to tie the series and keep fighting. Maccabi edged Scavolini 100-103 in Game 2 in Pesaro behind 26 points from Nikola Vujcic and 20 from Anthony Parker. Charles Smith led Scavolini with 32 points. The hosts got within 100-101 in the final seconds but Maccabi avoided Scavolini's press and Baston dunked to send the champs to the Final Four. CSKA thrashed Ulker 64-82 in Game 2 in Istanbul. J.R. Holden, Marcus Brown and David Andersen each had 14 points in a convincing win for CSKA, that reached the Final Four with a 21-1 record. Tau edged Benetton 66-64 to make it to the Final Four on Pablo Prigioni and Luis Scola's late heroics. Arvydas Macijauskas led the winners with 20 points. Efes downed Panathinaikos 75-63 in Istanbul to force Game 3. Will Solomon paced the winners with 24 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals.
Jaka Lakovic - Panathinaikos
 QUARTERFINAL PLAYOFFS GAME 3
Panathinaikos joined Maccabi Elite, Tau Ceramica and CSKA Moscow at the 2005 Final Four in the Russian capital by beating Efes Pilsen 84-76 in do-or-die Game 3 in front of a sellout crowd of 18,000 in Athens, Greece. Panathinaikos made the most out of its heavy homecourt advantage, won the best-of-three series 2-1 and advanced to face defending champion Maccabi Tel Aviv in the semifinals. CSKA and Tau Ceramica were ready to meet each other in the other semifinal. The Greens made 12 of 16 triples over 25 minutes starting midway through the first quarter to take a 25-point lead near the end of the third. Efes, however, rallied back to within 76-71 with just over a minute left before Panathinaikos held on for the victory. Jaka Lakovic led the winners with 22 points. Ibrahim Kutluay added 15 and Fragiskos Alvertis 11 for Panathinaikos. Henry Domercant led Efes Pilsen with 17 points. Dusan Kecman added 15 and Will Solomon had 12 for the guests.
PLAYOFFS
GROUP QUARTERFINAL 1
cska moscow
 *CSKA Moscow
2
88-74
64-82
Ulker
 Ulker
1
GROUP QUARTERFINAL 2
panathinaikos
 *Panathinaikos
2
102-96
75-63
84-76
efes pilsen
 Efes Pilsen
1
GROUP QUARTERFINAL 3
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv
 *Maccabi Elite
2
88-60
100-103
Scavolini Pesaro
 Scavolini Pesaro
0
GROUP QUARTERFINAL 4
Benetton Treviso
 Benetton Treviso
0
59-98
66-64
Tau Ceramica
 *Tau Ceramica
2
*Qualified to Final Four

STATISTICAL LEADERS

POINTS
Scola
 L. Scola 23.0
C. Smith 23.0
J. Lakovic 22.6
A. Macijauskas 20.5
W. Solomon 20.3
REBOUNDS
Robert Archibald
 R. Archibald 8.5
D. Dikoudis 7.5
E. Zukauskas 7.5
D. Andersen 7.5
M. Goree 7.0
ASSISTS
Papaloukas
 T. Papaloukas 6.0
M. Brown 5.0
S. Jasikevicius 4.5
J.R. Holden 4.0
P. Progioni 4.0
STEALS
Solomon
 W. Solomon 3.3
C. Smith 3.0
D. Diamantidis 2.6
M. Goree 2.0
H. Mottola 2.0
BLOCKS
Maceo Baston
 M. Baston 2.0
E. Zukauskas 1.5
M. Goree 1.5
F. Solak 1.5
R. Archibald 1.5
FREE THROWS
Sarunas Jasikevicius
 S. Jasikevicius 100%
D. Thomas 100%
A. Macijauskas 100%
M. Muursepp 100%
N. Vujcic 100%
2P SHOTS
Patrick Femerling
 P. Femerling 100%
S. Monya 100%
N. Prkacin 82.3%
M. Garnett 80.0%
L. Scola 77.7%
3P SHOTS
Sharp
 D. Sharp 62.5%
M. Goree 60.0%
D. Kecman 60.0%
F. Alvertis 54.5%
A. Macijauskas 53.3%
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Euroleague.net
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