Barcelona looms for Reds after Moscow loss

By George Georgakopoulos

Olympiakos lost its hopes for a top-two finish in its Euroleague group, that would secure it home advantage in the play-offs, after going down 76-70 at CSKA Moscow on Friday. The Reds will now finish third and will likely face Barcelona in the quarterfinals.

Playing once again without captain Vassilis Spanoulis, Olympiakos challenged its host all the way, and even led at times during the first half (22-21, 25-23) which ended 39-34 in the Russians? favor.

CSKA opened its lead to double digits in the second half but Olympiakos kept cutting the distance (51-49, 60-57) before surrendering in the end to a superior Moscow side.

The Russians, coached by Greek Dimitris Itoudis, were boosted by NBA veteran Andrei Kirilenko (10 points, nine rebounds).

Giorgos Printezis and Matt Lojeski were the top scorers for Olympiakos, notching up 16 points each.

This means that with Panathinaikos still struggling to earn a ticket to the quarterfinals and with Olympiakos having a mountain to climb, facing Barcelona in the play-offs without home advantage, it appears that this year may well be the second in a row without a Greek team in the Final Four.