Back to the court from which it reached the Final Four a decade ago, Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz did it again Tuesday, defeating host Panathinaikos Athens 75-84 before a packed crowd at Olympic Sports Center Athens to sweep their best-of-five playoff series 3-0 and punch a ticket to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague's crowning event in Berlin, Germany next month! Laboral drilled 7 of 8 three-point shots in the game's last 8 minutes to run away with what had been a back-and-forth battle until then. Laboral's victory meant, however, that the Euroleague career of legend Dimitris Diamantidis, who plans to retire at the end of the season, ended with a loss as Panathinaikos was booted from the playoffs for the fourth season running. Diamantidis finished with 2,495 career points, 1 behind his former teammate Mike Batiste, for sixth place on the all-time scoring list and, with 2 rebounds, tied Denis Marconato for 10th place. it will be Laboral that returns to the Final Four for the first time since 2008, however, as Darius Adams scored 14 of his 24 points in the last quarter and Mike James followed with 20 total. Davis Bertans had 13 points for the winners, while Ioannis Bourousis had 9 and 6 assists. Miroslav Raduljica led Panathinaikos with 13 points and 8 rebounds, while James Gist and Elliot Williams scored 11 each. Diamantidis, the Euroleague's career leader in assists and steals, finished with 8 points and 7 assists. Laboral won despite the ongoing absences of injured starters Fabien Causeur and Adam Hanga.
Score in each period: 17-20, 37-42, 55-56, 75-84
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