Maccabi set up Greek final tester
Panathanaikos 81-71 Efes Pilsen Istanbul
The delighted home crowd in Thessaloniki was able to celebrate the progression of a Greek team into Thursday's Euro League final after Panathanaikos overcame Efes Pilsen Istanbul 81-71.
In a similar pattern to the earlier last four tie, the 1996 champions led from buzzer to buzzer, breaking clear for a 14-12 advantage after five minutes played to go up 41-33 at half-time.
Their cushion increased to as much as 15 points mid-way through the latter stanza and the Turks - the first from their country to reach this stage - found no response.
FC Barcelona 51-65 Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv breezed into the final with some ease, the Israelis untroubled in their 65-51 disposal of FC Barcelona at the semi-final stage.Twice winners and four times a runner up in the competition, Maccabi were led by a 26 points effort from centre Nate Huffman, 14 coming in the first half when Pinhas Gershon's side built a 38-22 cushion. After the interval, the Catalans rallied back to within eight points with some fine shooting and tough defence but they could come no closer as their opponents pulled decisively clear.
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