Kostas Sloukas has made game-winning three-pointers a personal specialty over the last few years, but even by his standards, the veteran playmaker’s strike to give Olympiacos Piraeus a 71-72 victory – and a 2-1 series lead – over his former club Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul on Wednesday night was something pretty special.
With just 3.8 seconds on the clock and his team trailing by 2, Sloukas received the inbounds pass, came off a perfect pick from Sasha Vezenkov, went one on one against the good defense of Nigel Hayes-Davis and, nearly two meters from the three-point line, released a tough jumper that briefly rattled the rim before dropping perfectly through to give Olympiacos a sensational victory.
The drama of the moment was intensified by the fact that it was merely the latest in a long line of big shots made by big players during the final two minutes. Nick Calathes started it with a three-pointer to make it 69-66, which was soon answered by a three from Vezenkov to tie it up. Then came Marko Guduric pump faking and dropping in a mid-range jumper to give Fenerbahce victory…or so they thought, but Sloukas had other ideas.
Immediately after the game, a visibly and understandably pumped Sloukas typically tried to make light of his heroics, saying: "I had 3 seconds at the end, and I said I’d take the responsibility because I was feeling good. Sasha set a good down pick and after that, I played one on one, I shot and I scored. I could have missed, but with 3 seconds we couldn’t do anything different."
He makes it sound so simple but these moments of magic don’t happen by accident, and a grateful Vezenkov summed it up well by observing: "Some could say it’s lucky but I’ve seen Kostas practice this shot every day."