By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will be the honorary guest of Turkish Airlines Euroleague at the Final Four in Belgrade, according to a report by mozzartsport.com.
Popovich, who recently became the winningest coach in NBA history (he reached 1,336 victories in March to surpass Don Nelson), will arrive in Belgrade late on Wednesday, as mentioned in the report.
For Popovich, Belgrade is one of his favourite European basketball destinations, as three years ago he has again been invited a guest of the Basketball without Borders program in the Serbian capital.
In the Semifinals of the Final Four, the defending champion Anadolu Efes will face Greek giants Olympiacos, and ACB powerhouses FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will extend their rivalry in Stark Arena. Following Thursday’s matchups, the championship and third-place games will be held on Saturday.
Enriching the established connection to overseas basketball, the 73-year-old Indiana-born tactician served as head coach of Team USA from 2015 to 2019. Under his leadership, the United States was limited to the seventh place in the 2019 FIBA World Cup and bounced back in style capturing the gold medals in the 2020 Olympic Games held in Tokyo last summer. Former assistant Steve Kerr will take over the head coaching responsibilities heading to the next major FIBA international tournaments, the 2023 edition of the World Cup and the 2024 Olympic Games.
Coming off his 26th campaign as the head coach of the Spurs, his side finished tenth in the Western Conference Regular Season standings but losing to the New Orleans Pelicans in the Play-In tournament fell short of a berth in the Playoffs.