Olympiacos Piraeus will be aiming for its fourth Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title at this season's May 19-21 Final Four in Kaunas, and so will the club's livewire point guard, Kostas Sloukas, after he stole the show in a captivating playoff series against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.
The 33-year-old, who lifted the trophy during his first spell with Olympiacos in 2012 and 2013 before doing it again with Fenerbahce in 2017, put his former club to the sword as the Greek side clinched the series 3-2.
Sloukas delivered the first killer blow in the series when he sank a buzzer-beater from downtown in a 71-72 road win at Fenerbahce to give Olympiacos a 2-1 lead, having finished that game with 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the floor.
In Game 5 on Tuesday, which Olympiacos won 84-72, he paced his team again with 22 points, including 7 during a 15-0 run late in the second quarter that wiped out a 29-31 deficit and turned the tide for good.
Sloukas, who showed remarkable speed and agility at this stage of his career, blew away Nick Calathes in their personal battle of point guards and fellow Greek compatriots, on his way to reaching the rare milestone of 1,500 assists. He was the driving force behind his team's success although he came off the bench, with Thomas Walkup and Isiah Canaan being the backcourt starters.
That strategy by head coach Georgios Bartzokas paid off as Walkup and Canaan provided airtight defense and, once Sloukas checked in, the offensive firepower came to the fore. On Thursday, he shot 7-for-11 from the floor and dished out 6 assists, ripping through Fenerbahce's defense whenever the visitors showed any signs of clawing their way back into the contest.