By Cesare Milanti/ info@eurohoops.net
Kaunas, Lithuania – After a win in El Clasico over Barcelona, Real Madrid made it to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game again and will play Olympiacos for the trophy.
Center Edy Tavares played a crucial role in the semifinal, scoring 20 points with 15 rebounds for a PIR of 39, and after the game, he gave his first impressions.
“It means a lot. We know they are a great team; we have been playing against each other a lot of times. We know it’s tough to play against them; when they allowed us to take the game, we did well,” Tavares said.
Talented Eli Ndiaye started the match without Guerschon Yabusele and Gabriel Deck on the team.
“Great young guy who works hard, he has been trying to play this whole season and is now getting an opportunity on a Final four with a lot of pressure, and I think he did a great job.”
Barcelona had control in the first half, but Real Madrid took over in the second and dominated in the last 10 minutes to grab a win.
“We play against each other a lot; we know very well what they are going to do against me, so I tried to prepare as much as I could play against them.”
Nikola Mirotic had one of the worst nights in his career, with a negative PIR of -2 for the first time in a Barcelona jersey.
“It was hard because he is a great player. If you give too much contact, it will be a foul or something, so we gotta be very focused because he is very smart when he plays basketball.”
Tavares hopes Kaunas will be lucky for Real Madrid, who will have a chance on Sunday to win its 11th European title.
“It’s always great. Kaunas is a city of basketball; we can feel it in the air. It’s been great; we hope Kunas will give us the luck to win the trophy.”
Real Madrid struggled against Partizan in the playoffs, then had trouble in the first half against Barcelona, but again, they prevailed.
“It’s the DNA of Real Madrid. We never give up; we know we gotta give everything, win or lose, and that’s what we did. We gave everything, and we got a win. Sometimes we don’t, but it’s always important to give everything,” Edy Tavares concluded.