Bodiroga scores 22 as Pao beat Efes

Bodiroga (Pao, left) fights for the ball with Mulaomerovic

SuproLeague, Final-Four, semifinal match, May 11, Paris, FRANCE

Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv (ISRAEL) - CSKA Moscow (RUSSIA) 86-80 (21-19, 16-24, 23-9, 26-28)

In a game of fantastic comebacks, Maccabi confirmed its quality. Tel Aviv earned the win with an awesome team effort.

SuproLeague, Final-Four, semifinal match, May 11, Paris, FRANCE

Panathinaikos Athens (GREECE) - Efes Pilsen Istanbul (TURKEY) 74-66 (23-10, 15-13, 15-25, 21-18)

Panathinaikos established domination at the beginning and kept it in their 'safe-deposit box' until the very end. In a game far less intensive than the first semi-final, Efes showed that they still didn't have what it took for a major achievement.

The game had an interesting start marked by an initial showdown of Fotsis, who made two quick dunks, and Drobnjak, who was Efes' only offensive solution. But then Dejan Bodiroga connected with a couple of easy lay-ups to lift his team to a 15-point lead. The Turks seemed to have surrendered, and their bench was surprisingly quiet, but they still managed to find strength to get back into the game.

Their comeback was orchestrated by Damir Mulaomerovic (20 points). Drobnjak was also present as well as Omer Onan. Their effort cut the lead to just three points and raised new hopes on the eve of the final quarter.

Instead of capitalizing, however, on that fabulous run, the Turks again lost control.

Their erroneous finish was mercilessly punished by Bodiroga and the sharpshooting Michael Koch. The big question for the finals will be how to revitalize Zeljko Rebraca, who is far from last year's MVP tournament shape.