It’s Vassilis Spanoulis against the club where he made his legacy. The second semi-final of the Euroleague Final Four in Abu Dhabi pits Olympiacos against AS Monaco. Emmet Ryan breaks it down and makes his fearless prediction.
This sport isn’t scripted but you could hardly have written a better one for this. Vassilis Spanoulis, in his first season as AS Monaco head coach, is taking on Olympiacos, the club where he became a legend, at the Euroleague Final Four. It’s going to be an emotional one in Abu Dhabi but who comes out on top?
Key tactical battles
We know who AS Monaco are. Their offensive game revolves around Mike James, last season’s MVP. He’s supported by Elie Okobo, Nick Calathes, and Matthew Strazel. They will look to ask questions of a defensively stout Olympiacos backcourt with Nigel Williams-Goss and Thomas Walkup proving key factors.
The primary man for Olympiacos at the Euroleague Final Four, or anywhere, is Sasha Vezenkov. He, of course, will be aided by Evan Fournier and Alec Peters for a potent outside shooting attack.
Then there’s the big with big meaty men slapping meat. Moustapha Fall and Nikola Militunov will square off with Daniel Theis, Donatas Motiejunas, and a revitalised Georgios Papagiannis. It’s going to be a banger on the inside.
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The story so far
The regular season series was split, with both sides taking road wins. That ensures things are nice and vague heading into Abu Dhabi. Indeed, historically there is little between the sides since AS Monaco stepped up to Euroleague level.
Of course, the one previous Euroleague Final Four meeting was the 2023 semi-final. A big Olympiacos comeback gave the Reds the win in Kaunas.
In terms of getting here. Olympiacos managed to take care of Real Madrid in four games, having topped the regular season standings. The Roca team meanwhile were brought the distance by FC Barcelona before eventually getting the W.
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Betting Odds & Context
Olympiacos come into this game as slight but clear favourites. Markets have them averaging out as 53/100 (1.53) while AS Monaco are 79/50 (2.58) on average. That implies about a 62 per cent likelihood that the win in Abu Dhabi goes to Olympiacos.
Both sides enter the Euroleague Final Four as impressive enough campaigns. The Reds went 24-10 in the regular season to top the table while the Roca team went 23-11, just a game behind in fourth.
The obvious context is student vs master. Vassilis Spanoulis has shown extreme decisiveness early in his coaching career. Part of that will have come from Georgios Bartzokas who is the mentor turned rival now for Kill Bill.
What do we think
Olympiacos bring depth and defence to the Euroleague Final Four. AS Monaco arrive in Abu Dhabi with the least pressure of any of the sides in town. This is the fourth straight trip to the final weekend of the season for Oly and the pressure is real.
Still, with serious scoring prowess, the Reds are built to make up for mistakes in a hurry. They know that Mike James will try to work some magic but there just seem to be too many good options for the league leaders. It’s time for the important bit.
Fearless prediction:Olympiacos
This should be tight and I expect Olympiacos to falter at least once, giving AS Monaco a serious run. I doubt that’ll be enough over 40 minutes in Abu Dhabi. The Reds will advance at the Euroleague Final Four.
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