He hadn’t played since Round 29 but recorded a season-high 17 points in the series decider
X-Factor Georgios Papagiannis emerged in Game 5 to finish Barcelona off
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3 Min lectura
For the first four games of AS Monaco's playoff series against FC Barcelona, Georgios Papagiannis was in street clothes. But in Game 5, he dusted off his cape and came to his team's rescue.
The 27-year-old last appeared in a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game back in Round 29, when he played for just 4 minutes against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, yet coach Vassilis Spanoulis decided that the time was right to name the Greek center on the 12-man roster.
That said, Papagiannis had to remain patient. He didn't play a single second in the first quarter, but when he did come off the bench he didn't take long to make an impact. However, with Barcelona looking to mount a fourth-quarter comeback, Papagiannis really put his fingerprints on proceedings.
A back-and-forth affair saw the guests grab a 65-67 lead thanks to a 0-5 run early in the fourth quarter. Enter Papagiannis, who nailed a triple to put his team back in front. A three-point play by Willy Hernangomez gave the visitors a 72-74 edge, but Mike James tied it up before setting up the Greek big, who slammed home an alley-oop dunk to put Monaco ahead.
In an exchange of blows, Jabari Parker responded with a big triple on the other end, but Papagiannis came to the fore once again by drilling another three and scoring inside for an 81-78 lead heading into crunch time.
“Georgios had a very good practice yesterday,” Spanoulis said in the post-game press conference. “It was instinct and my decision to bring him back. I saw yesterday in practice his pick-and-rolls and I thought that he could bring us something new. With the defense that Barcelona plays, I thought that quick dives and pick-and-pops can give us something but Georgios gave more than something today. He gave us a huge performance.”
Papagiannis scored half of Monaco’s 20 fourth-quarter points, when everything was at stake. He finished the game by going 3 for 3 on three-pointers and 4 for 5 from inside the arc. Papagiannis’s season-high 17 points were paired with 5 rebounds and 1 block in arguably his best performance this season for Monaco.
“I was staying ready during the whole series and before the series,” he told EuroLeague TV. “Everybody helped me out from the first until the last one and I was just waiting for my moment to come and it was today. I’m really happy that I’ve made it to my second Final Four in a row.”
James may have led the team on the floor, with Spanoulis’s tactics helping Monaco overcome Barcelona, but had it not been for Papagiannis, the hosts may have not managed to clinch their second Final Four participation in three years.
Most importantly, the Monaco boss will head into a tough semifinal matchup against his former team, Olympiacos Piraeus, knowing that in Papagiannis he has an extra weapon he can rely on – a weapon that has what it takes to step up off the bench when it matters most.