 In their fifth season of existence, the Quarterfinal Playoffs in 2008-09 have changed to an expanded format of five games. The previous format, best-of-three series, lasted from 2005 through 2008. Last summer, however, the competition format was changed to eliminate four regular season games and add two at the height of the season, in the playoffs. As such, three playoff victories are now needed for teams to reach the Final Four, which will be held May 1 to 3 in Berlin, Germany's brand new o2 World. The playoffs format calls for three home games for each Top 16 group winner - the first two games and the fifth, if necessary - while their opponents who finished second in the Top 16 have Game 3 and, if necessary, Game 4 at home. In the 16 previous three-game playoff series, only twice has the team without homecourt advantage won, and both times it was Tau Ceramica, which also begins this year's playoff on the road
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PLAYOFFS GAME 1 |
In the opening games of the first best-of-five quarterfinals in European basketball history, Tau Ceramica struck first by turning the homecourt in advantage in its favor with a 75-84 road win at Regal FC Barcelona as Pablo Prigioni had 14 points and 8 assists. There were three home winners, too. CSKA Moscow set a playoffs defensive record for points allowed by defeating Partizan 56-47 behind Erazem Lorbek's 16 points. After CSKA held Partizan to 3 first-quarter points, another record, it became the lowest-scoring playoff game ever. Among two games in Greece, Panathinaikos outlasted Montepaschi 90-85 - the highest-scoring playoff game in over four years - as Nikola Pekovic led five Greens in double-figures with 21 points. Romain Sato and Terrell McIntyre combined for 56 points for Montepaschi. Also at home, Olympiacos downed feisty Real Madrid as former Euroleague MVP Theo Papaloukas tied a playoff record and set a career-high with 13 assists. Nikola Vujcic and Lynn Greer scored 19 each for the Reds. MORE | MVP | TV Rewind |
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PLAYOFFS GAME 2 |
Olympiacos and CSKA Moscow got just one win away from reaching the 2009 Final Four, as both teams have a 2-0 lead in their respective best-of-five Quarterfinal Playoffs series against Real Madrid and Partizan. Meanwhile, Montepaschi Siena and Regal FC Barcelona bounced back from their opening losses against Panathinaikos and Tau Ceramica, respectively. CSKA got closer to make it to its seventh consecutive Final Four by thrashing Partizan 77-50 in Moscow behind 21 points and 7 rebounds from Erazem Lorbek. Meanwhile, Olympiacos defeated Real Madrid 79-73 at home to get within one win of reaching its first Final Four this decade. Lynn Greer paced the winners with 21 points. Meanwhile, Montepaschi rallied from a 16-point deficit to stun Panathinaikos 79-84 at the Athens Indoor Olympic Hall to even their series at 1-1 with 24 points from Terrell McIntyre. Last but not least, Regal FCB thrashed Tau 85-62 at home. Series is tied at 1-1 but Tau hosts Games 3 and 4. Jaka Lakovic led Barcelona with 17 points. MORE | MVP | TV Rewind |
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PLAYOFFS GAME 3 |
CSKA Moscow became the first team to reach the 2009 Final Four and seal its ticket to Berlin, Germany on May 1-3. Meanwhile, Olympiacos, Tau Ceramica and Panathinaikos have a 2-1 lead in their respective best-of-five Quarterfinal Playoffs series. CSKA beat Partizan 56-67 in Game 3 to sweep their series and make it to its seventh consecutive Final Four. Ramunas Siskauskas led the winners with 20 points on 10-for-10 free throws. Tau Ceramica survived a tough test by edging Regal FC Barcelona 69-62 in Vitoria behind 15 points from Igor Rakocevic. Tau leads the series 1-2 and hosts Game 4, as Barcelona hopes to bring back injured star guard Juan Carlos Navarro for this make-or-break showdown. Panathinaikos bounced back from its Game 2 loss by downing Montepaschi 53-72 in Siena. Panathinaikos regained the home court advantage and handed Montepaschi its first home loss since December 2007. Real Madrid stayed alive by beating Olympiacos 71-63 behind 22 points from Louis Bullock. The Reds lead the series 2-1. MORE | MVP | TV Rewind |
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PLAYOFFS GAME 4 |
Panathinaikos and Olympiacos sealed respective tickets to the 2009 Final Four - joining already qualified and defending champion CSKA Moscow - by winning their respective best-of-five Quarterfinal Playoffs series against Montepaschi Siena and Real Madrid. Meanwhile, Tau Ceramica and Regal FCB are set to battle for the remaining spot in do-or-die Game 5. Panathinaikos topped Montepaschi 84-91 in Game 4 to win their series 3-1. Drew Nicholas led 6 Panathinaikos players in double digits with 19 points. Meanwhile, Olympiacos reached its first Final Four since 1999 by edging Real Madrid 75-78 in the Spanish capital in Game 4. Ioannis Bourousis paced the winners with 25 points but Zoran Erceg became the game hero, scoring all of his 7 points in the last four minutes, including the go-ahead three-pointer. Barcelona forced Game 5 by thrashing Tau 63-84 in Vitoria. Jaka Lakovic led 5 Barcelona players in double digits with 15 points, as the series go back to Palau Blaugrana for decisive Game 5. MORE | MVP | TV Rewind |
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PLAYOFFS GAME 5 |
Despite all the tension of a fifth game, Barcelona roared back to the Final Four for the first time since 2006 after overwhelming Tau Ceramica 78-62 on before a sellout crowd to win their best-of-five Quarterfinal Playoff series 3-2. Great early shooting and outstanding defense let Barcelona play ahead from tipoff to buzzer and manage leads that swelled to 21 points, 70-49, in the final quarter. Home-team hero Juan Carlos Navarro sparked the win with 16 first-half points on the way to 19 for the game, while Ersan Ilyasova matched him, pulled down 10 rebounds and dished 4 assists. Jaka Lakovic added 16 points for the winners. Tau got 19 points on 8-for-10 two-point shooting from Tiago Splitter, 14 more from Pete Mickeal. Navarro had 11 points in the first quarter as Barcelona raced ahead 23-15. A big three-pointer by Pablo Prigioni could only bring Tau within 40-30 at halftime. Tau got within 7 points twice after that, the last time midway through the third quarter, before David Andersen and Ilyasova combined on a 10-0 run that put the game out of reach. MORE |
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Best-of-five series, 2-2-1 format
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| March 24 - April 8, 2009 |
| QUARTERFINAL 1 |
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| Olympiacos 3 |
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| Real Madrid 1 |
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| QUARTERFINAL 2 |
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| Regal Barcelona 3 |
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| Tau Ceramica 2 |
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| QUARTERFINAL 3 |
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| Panathinaikos 3 |
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| Montepaschi Siena 1 |
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