By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
BERLIN, Germany – Thursday means witnessing the usual press conference in every EuroLeague Final Four, and it was the case as well in the hall of the Uber Arena.
With an extraordinary panel composed of the respective coaches and one representative for each team qualifying for the Final Four, the most-anticipated weekend of the season really started to take place.
The defending champions are hungry for more
First off, Chus Mateo took the floor answering how they feel being the favorites. “Favorite is a nice word, why not? But we’re not focusing on that in the locker room, for us it’s important to understand what we need to do to win the Final Four. We respect Olympiacos a lot, they are gentlemen on the court and on the bench. This is the only thing we talk about in the locker room”, Chus Mateo opened.
He was followed by Edy Tavares, who praised his team’s attitude and experience. “That’s one of the best things we have in our team, to have the experience and guys who can lead us to win. That’s why we are here every year, it’s another opportunity for us to get a trophy”, the dominant center commented.
Later on, Chus Mateo expressed the hunger his team is feeling right now. “We’re not defending the title, we will try to get another time. We’re not defending anything. We don’t think about anything else, we don’t go further. We’re still hungry, we don’t think about being 1st in the regular season. We’re here to win, nothing that happened in the past will condition us”, the Spanish head coach said.
This will also be Rudy Fernandez’s last Final Four with Real Madrid, as he’s expected to retire in the summer. “He’s extra motivated, probably for this reason. We will try to give him the last trophy, for him. This is one of the reasons why we’re fighting. For him and Gaby Deck, who is not gonna be with us, it’s another reason why we’re fighting”, Real Madrid‘s head coach said. “As a fan, he’s one of my favorite players. For me, it’s the biggest motivation to end his career with a EuroLeague trophy”, Walter Tavares continued.
Watch the full EuroLeague Final Four press conference:
“You never have to underestimate nobody, and this is what I wanna teach to my players”, he added, followed by Edy Tavares. “Focusing on the future and winning another one hopefully, it’s the best. Nobody will remember what happened yesterday”, last year’s Final Four MVP added.
Closing on last year’s champions, Chus Mateo also explained what it means to have his center on board, hoping to have him next year as well. “I can’t describe the dimension of having Edy Tavares condition the game of their opponents and our game. We want to keep playing with Edy [Tavares], he’s the best center in Europe and the most fundamental. Humanly speaking, you already know what I think of him. He’s a fantastic player and human being. [Vincent] Poirier is also very important for us”, he said.
Fighting spirit for Olympiacos
Georgios Bartzokas followed last year’s champions, opening the chapter about Olympiacos. “We are super motivated just to be here in the Final Four, with the four best teams in the EuroLeague this year and having the opportunity to be here. We don’t think about what happened last year, we will give our best as a club and as a team. We’re fighters”, the Greek head coach said.
Later on, he underlined his club’s identity and strength by keeping everybody on the same page. “The most important thing for us is to be on the same page. We lost two of our most important players last year, but the club is still here. We need to be humble, motivated, and stick together to play our basketball. I’m happy we did it, we made it”, he also added.
Touching on last year’s cruel ending, the Greek head coach reflected. “We didn’t see any video of the buzzer-beater from Sergio Llull. If you ask me, I would say to my players: “Please don’t give him the opportunity to dribble with the right hand and take that pull-up”. Although we knew, he made it, and he made it last year. It was this viral video that everybody saw this year, that winning shot from Sergio. We need to focus on the important stuff”, he said.
Georgios Bartzokas also commented about his first Final Four in Berlin, when he was coaching Lokomotiv Kuban. “We were the Cinderella with Loko. We competed against the champion CSKA Moscow in the semifinal, and you’re first appearance is always very strange. You need more than one time to win the trophy, it’s very difficult for a newcomer. It’s not impossible, but it’s very difficult”, he added.
Kostas Papanikolaou also took the floor to comment during the Final Four press conference. “Everybody should focus on basketball, it’s tricky when you try to make more than what you have. We need to enjoy the experience in the Final Four. We have a group of guys who are sticking together, we don’t have fear to play against any opponents. Before we got to Game 5 against Barcelona, that was the best practice we had all season. Same here: everybody is locked in”, Olympiacos‘ captain said.
Asked about both Olympiacos and Panathinaikos being at the Final Four, he expressed satisfaction. “I believe it’s really important and meaningful for Greek basketball, it’s good for the young kids to be involved”, he said before touching on Kostas Sloukas. “Each one of us will fight for his team, and enjoy. It’s all about sports, this is what we’re focusing on. If life brings us against each other, it’s sport: that’s the beauty for me”, he also said about the potential clash with the Greek rivals.
Ergin Ataman promised the 7th star to be in OAKA
“It was a big challenge to get this promise, I believe Panathinaikos is one of the biggest and most successful clubs in European basketball history. I wish our supporters to enjoy the Final Four. I can promise we will bring 7th star in OAKA”, Ergin Ataman opened the floor.
Later on, he was asked about facing a Turkish team like Fenerbahce in the Semi-Finals. “I think this is not a national team competition, it’s the biggest European and global competition. I represent my country but also a Greek team. I don’t believe this will be an important thing, the only important is to play a very tough semifinal. I don’t have big emotions because I won two times the cup. I will try to win one more time, but every one of my colleagues has the same goal”, he said.
Then, he also touched on the incident he witnessed with a group of yellow-and-blue fans outside of the hotel yesterday. “I like to thank all people who supported me, starting from the EuroLeague CEO and German police. I don’t want to talk about small incidents with small people. I have great respect for Fenerbahce fans”, he commented.
Kostas Sloukas will play his first-ever Final Four with Panathinaikos after being at the highest stage with Olympiacos and Fenerbahce as well. “[Having Olympiacos and Panathinaikos here is] something incredible for Greek basketball. Last summer I made a really difficult decision for many reasons, I’m happy I made it. Motivation has been following me for my career. When I don’t have it I’ll stop”, he said.
Panathinaikos’ Greek leader also praised Sarunas Jasikevicius and his run in 2009 with the Greek powerhouse. “In 2009 I was here out of the 12 in Olympiacos. [Sarunas Jasikevicius] He’s one of my idols. It was something incredible to see, that Panathinaikos team was the best ever in the EuroLeague”, he commented.
Sarunas Jasikevicius’ proposal to Ergin Ataman
Talking about Kostas Sloukas, in 2009 he was left out of the 12-man roster of Olympiacos in the Final Four. Therefore, Sarunas Jasikevicius asked Ergin Ataman to do the same. “You can leave him out”, he said. “When we beat you in OAKA, Kostas [Sloukas] was injured”, the Turkish coach replied. “Don’t change what’s working”, his Lithuanian colleague said once again.
“The coaches for sure have a tougher job leading up to the Final Four, there are so many responsibilities. Players have to come and play well, I hope this is exactly what’s going to happen. I hope we can put some good performances on the court. You need to hit some shots. The biggest thing I’m saying is that you need to have opportunities. Here we are again, taking advantage of the opportunity”, Sarunas Jasikevicius commented.
“You can’t think any further than the next practice, the next game. These guys have seen all kinds of coaches and systems, we didn’t invest anything and I was very lucky to have guys I coached before. In general, we try to take it day by day. We try, we try, we try. We put the product on the court and hopefully, things will work out”, he also said.
Nigel Hayes-Davis was also present during the Final Four press conference, and he took some time to dedicate a thought to his beloved cat back in Istanbul. “I didn’t bring my cat here, but I have some shoes dedicated to him”, he said.
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague