Writing from Berlin: Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The name of Nikola Vujcic brings back memories of the Maccabi Tel Aviv that dominated the Euroleague stage in the mid of the 00s.
One of the greatest centers in the history of the European basketball and the only players who has recorded a triple-double in the history of Euroleague, is present in the Final Four to also participate in the ONE team events, of the tournament.
“It’s always good to be here and part in this great event”, he said to Eurohoops “I’m sorry that Maccabi is not here of course, but anyway, this is a festival of basketball. Every year the whole organization is better and better”
As a Final Four connoisseur, and two-times Euroleague champion as a player, can Nikola Vujcic make any predictions for the upcoming tournament? “I think that things are very equal. And this is why it is diffucult to make any predictions. For example, in the last Final Four that we won with Maccabi in 2014, we had the lead chances to be champions out of all teams. But we did it. In one game, everything is possible”.
Laboral Kutxa and Lokomotiv Kuban are considered to be a surprises by most. Does the Croatian legend feel the same? “Honestly, I didn’t see them coming. When it comes to Lokomotiv Kuban, it is not easy to beat Barcelona in a playoffs series. But they did it and they deserve big credit for that. Baskonia was playing very good basketball throughout the season. So at the end of the day, they are not such surprises, if you think about it”.
Since he mentioned the series of Lokomotiv Kuban vs Barcelona, which was also decided by the superior mobility of the Russian’s big guys,what does Vujcic think about the new age of basketball where speed often rules over height? “Basketball is definitely becoming faster. At the same time, I don’t think that it is necessarily… more beautiful now, to put it like that. In the case of Lokomotiv Kuban, Randolph and Singleton are different type of players. Singleton is a 3 who plays as a 5. Generally, every new age brings something different in basketball”.
As the GM of Maccabi Tel Aviv, Nikola Vujcic wants to build a new, stronger team fpr the upcoming season: We are indeed working hard for the next season. We want to make a balanced Maccabi team, athletic and qualitative”. And how did this season’s Euroleague failure affect the way that Maccabi management new-season planning? “It had made us more willing to strengthen the team. But it had also made us smarter. That’s the important part”.