By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
During the weeks before the EuroLeague Final Four, Anadolu Efes guard Shane Larkin’s social media were under an invasion, of sorts, by Olympiacos Piraeus fans ahead of the semifinal clash between the two teams.
“All the [Olympiacos] fans were going at me saying “Oh, the Red army is coming for you,” Larkin told Eurohoops. “Some messages, I probably shouldn’t say.”
Larkin and Efes played in practically hostile gym for them since Stark Arena was packed by thousands over thousands of Olympiacos fans. Yet Efes prevailed to make the championship game for a third year in a row to defend its title in the Final.
Larkin absolutely loved all the noise and the atmosphere, which made the pleasure of victory a bit more special.
“They were going at me on social media,” Larkin said on Olympiacos fans. “It always makes for a fun game. At the end of the day, I think they respect me as a player, they just try to get in my head a little bit.”
There was no doubt that Larkin absolutely thrived on this hostile environment for him. He was hot from right from the start and finished the first half with 16 points on 4-8 3-pointers. He finished with 21 points plus seven assists.
“Great atmosphere, great fans,” Larkin added. “I’m really happy that we were able to play against them in this atmosphere, in Serbia where they traveled. Very grateful for this experience.”
The win for Efes was achieved thanks to a big-time shot by Vasilije Micic at the buzzer. Larkin was delighted to see one of his best friends (as he previously told Eurohoops) making this bucket in his native country.,
“Pure happiness,” Larkin said. “That kind of shot, in this kind of atmosphere, in his home country. You can’t write a better story. Extremely happy for Vasha, proud of him.”
There was no doubt in Larkin’s mind that Micic shot would go right in. “It’s a bucket’ That’s what I thought,” Larkin said. “I have utmost, ultimate faith in Vasha, especially when he plays in his country. He’s been there before and we’ve been in a similar situation many times.”
“Great shot for him, amazing moment but it’s not over. We didn’t came to win just to make it to the Final”