In the history of European basketball competitions, this would not be the first "civil war" in the history of Greek basketball. The Korać Cup semifinals between PAOK and Panionios had preceded it. But it would be the first time two Greek teams would take part in a Final Four, and thus Olympiacos and Panathinaikos took the baton from AEK in 1966, Aris during the 1988-90 period, and PAOK the previous year, in trying to claim the crown of European champion.

Some protagonists remain the same in this series while some new ones would start their hard journey... Antreas continues his FFF series so lets roll back the years once more. Here is how the F4 story continued to unfold...

On the sacred grounds for Christians everywhere, in Israel, majority of the fans of both teams arrived by sea at the port of Haifa, guarded by Israeli police, though close... encounters between them were not avoided in the end. The delegations of both finalists flew to Tel Aviv, visited Jerusalem and the Patriarchate to receive the blessing of Patriarch Diodoros, who committed a "foul" -not intentionally of course- when, at the end of Olympiacos' visit, Ioannidis asked for his blessing and the Patriarch, unaware that their opponent was also a Greek team, uttered: “crush the barbarians”. This, however, meant little to the players of the two “eternal rivals,” who lined up on the court of "Yad Eliyahu" on the night of April 19 1994, a venue that was not filled at max capacity, as Israeli fans, due to Maccabi’s absence from the event, largely snubbed the Final Four.

Politis believed that Galis, in his fourth semifinal attempt, would take the game into his own hands and hoped that Vranković would withstand the wear of fouls, since there was no reliable backup and Giannis Papagiannis was by no means Stojan. On the other hand, Ioannidis knew he had a strong advantage in the paint, especially with Tarlac returning from a serious injury. Panathinaikos' coach started with Myriounis on Tarpley and Volkov on Zarko. The game was going relatively well until the 12th minute, when Stojko picked up his third foul. Even so, the Greens led at times, with Oikonomou providing solutions, and the first half ended a draw at 36–36.

But Ioannidis knew time was working in Olympiacos’ favour, especially with Sigalas clamping down on Nik, who, under the emotional weight of his father’s recent death, seemed completely disconnected. Volkov tried on his own to fill Galis' absence by scoring a hefty 32 points, but Olympiacos, with a 15–0 run in the second half and with Zarko and Roy leading the fast-break, pulled ahead and claimed the victory 77–72, securing a place in the final. Galis, with just 8 points in what would be his last chance at the trophy, wiped away his tears in the locker room, while Ioannidis believed the time had come to break the curse and finally win the coveted European Cup.

In the other semifinal -the Spanish "civil war"- Joventut Badalona, no longer quite the team that lost the trophy in Istanbul in 1992, remained a strong and united squad under Obradović, facing a Barcelona team in its fourth Final Four attempt, this time without the nightmare of Jugoplastika looming around the corner. Obradović relied on Villacampa and young Jofresa, and his two guards delivered for Badalona. For Barça, only veteran Juan Antonio San Epifanio seemed to grasp the gravity of the moment. Epi knew it was his last chance at European basketball’s "Holy Grail," and did all he could, scoring 24 points. But this wasn’t proven enough and Badalona won 79–65, claiming the other spot in the April 21st final.

The final had a clear favorite and very few believed the Spaniards could resist Olympiacos and their formidable front line. Yet… everything that could go wrong in that match, started going wrong. Even before the game even began. After the semifinal victory over Panathinaikos, while everyone celebrated in the locker room, Roy Tarpley remembered how, early in the season after a defeat, Ioannidis asked the players to name who they felt wasn’t living up to his contract. Babbi Papadakis made the mistake of saying that Tarpley was one of them. Apparently, Tarpley never forgot that, and in the moment of joy, he turned the locker room into a rodeo, landing quick punches on the unlucky teammate. After they were separated, and following a monumental argument with the coach, Roy locked himself in his room with the only thing that could calm him, his beloved beers. With the intervention of Olympiacos’ president Sokratis Kokkalis, the team seemingly regained calm. But unfortunately for the team on April 21, 1994, Tarpley was dragging himself on the court. And it was not just him. Olympiacos as a whole played poorly and definetely under the standards they exhibited throughout the season. Obradović kept the score low and fed the ball to his only reliable center, Ferran Martínez in order to wear down Fasoulas. Olympiacos relied mainly on Paspalj and Sigalas to break through the Spanish defense, as Tarpley was ineffective. The first half ended 36–36.

Everyone expected an Olympiacos surge in the second half. Ioannidis only needed to let his team run, as they had all season. But he fell into Obradović’s trap, the game stayed slow-paced, and as time dwindled, it was clear it would come down to a single shot, a single play. Olympiacos' last basket, by Paspalj, made it 57–52 at the 33rd minute. From then on, the reds didn’t score for an amazing stretch of 6 minutes and 16 seconds. Badalona also struggled but managed to score 4 points to make it 57–56.

Even so, Olympiacos had their chances in the final minute, Villacampa and Martínez missed 1+1 free throws, but secured offensive rebounds. With 20 seconds left, a pass from Smith found an open Corny Thompson. With Tarpley two meters away, Thompson, who had gone 2/9 so far, rose from beyond the arc and hit the dagger three-pointer, 57–59 in Badalona’s favour. Ioannidis called for Tomic to get the ball to Paspalj. Zarko posted up on Smith, who fouled him with 4.8 seconds remaining. Free throws… In any other case, no one would doubt Paspalj. A career 85% shooter with a 23/23 FT game under his belt, a miss would have been unthinkable. But not that season… For unknown reasons, Zarko had lost his shooting touch. From beyond three meters, the hoop looked like the needle’s eye. He had never been in a free-throw-deciding moment...until now. Everyone held their breath as Paspalj stepped to the line. And everyone knew he’d miss, even Zarko himself felt it. And so it happened… He missed. The ball bounced around, ending in Tomic’s hands, who launched a desperation shot from near midcourt. No good. Paspalj grabbed the rebound, got one last shot - same result. Iron. Olympiacos defeated, Badalona crowned champions of Europe.

In the locker room, amidst deathly silence, Giorgos Sigalas was heard calling his teammates to shout together in unity. And then Ioannidis, lighting cigarette after cigarette, realizing that once again, he had lost the trophy he was obsessively chasing, turned and told him: “What the fuck man, we lost, do you understand that?” It was the outburst of a man who knew that if the final was played 100 times, Olympiacos would win 99 of them. But the one time that Badalona won, it was the one that mattered.

And somewhere in the background, the shadow of Nikos Galis was watching, empathizing with the coach. Both had come so close to the finish line, but neither was meant to see the mission through...