By Can Erozden
ANKARA (AA) - A renowned Greek basketball club, Olympiacos, are looking for their first Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title since 2013.
The Reds won three EuroLeague championships in 1997, 2012, and 2013.
But Olympiacos is a decent EuroLeague frequenter as they will be in the contest's Final Four for the 11th time in history and reached the 2015 and 2017 finals after their latest success in 2013 in London.
This season Olympiacos bagged 19 wins and had nine losses to complete the regular season in the second position as the Greek team reached the 2022 EuroLeague playoffs.
Olympiacos previously eliminated France's Monaco, winning the 2022 playoff series 3-2.
After beating Monaco, the Piraeus-based club joined the 2022 EuroLeague Final Four, which is set to start in Belgrade on Thursday, May 19.
In the semifinal at Belgrade's Stark Arena, Olympiacos will play against Turkiye's Anadolu Efes, who were also the 2021 champions.
The winning club will face either Barcelona or Real Madrid in this season's final.
The semifinal and the final will be played in a single-leg elimination format.
- Vezenkov, Dorsey, Sloukas carrying Olympiacos
Olympiacos trio Sasha Vezenkov, Tyler Dorsey and Kostas Sloukas are the main pillars of the Greek team this season, especially in points.
Greek forward Vezenkov played 36 games to average 13.7 points. US guard Dorsey has played with 12.9 points per game in this season's all phases, including the playoffs against Monaco.
Vezenkov also averaged 5.8 rebounds per game to lead his team in the 2021-22 EuroLeague season.
Greek point/shooting guard Sloukas averaged 11.9 points in 35 games.
He was a Fenerbahce Beko regular from 2015 to 2020 to be crowned the 2017 winner, the Turkish club's first and only EuroLeague success.
After five years in Istanbul, Sloukas returned to his former team Olympiacos.
Sloukas is a three-time EuroLeague champion as the 32-year-old previously helped the Reds win back-to-back EuroLeague titles in 2012 and 2013.
- Last EuroLeague success in 2013
Olympiacos were in a rebuilding process before their stellar seasons in the early 2010s.
After they had claimed the 1997 EuroLeague title, the Reds played in the Final Four in 1999, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017.
Olympiacos were the 2010 EuroLeague runners-up as they lost to Barcelona 86-68 in the final held in Paris.
But then the Greek club dominated the top-flight competition, winning the EuroLeague in Istanbul in 2012 and London in 2013.
Greek trio Sloukas, Georgios Printezis and Kostas Papanikolaou were the Olympiacos players when the Reds won the 2012 and 2013 titles.
Olympiacos beat Real Madrid 100-88 to be crowned the 2013 winners at O2 Arena, the Greek team's final success in the EuroLeague.
Following the 2013 triumph, the Piraeus team played in the EuroLeague finals twice (2015 and 2017).
Olympiacos lost the 2015 final to Real Madrid by 78-59 in Madrid, and the Greek team were beaten by Fenerbahce 80-64 in 2017 final held at Istanbul's Sinan Erdem Dome.