Reporting from Berlin: Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Darius Adams was one of the last Laboral Kutxa players coming out from the locker rooms for the team’s practice ahead of the upcoming third-place game for the Euroleague Final Four. While he struck a wide smile when he saw Dontaye Draper, of Lokomotiv Kuban, he was obviously affected by what had transpired in last night’s game.
In the semifinal overtime loss against Fenerbahce, the American guard scored 19 points and dished 7 assists, being one of the best players of his team. When he had the chance to give his team victory in the last seconds of the fourth period, his three-point attempt went off target. In overtime, Baskonia were overwhelmed by the newly-found momentum of their opponents.
Does he feel responsible, in a way, for his team’s defeat? “No, not at all”, he said to Eurohoops. “I left it all out on the court. Sometimes the shots don’t fall in. It’s a part of the game. It’s just too tough to come here and lose. But you have to let it go and be ready for the next game”.
The score was tied when Adams chose to shoot from behind the arc in order to give his team a game-winning adantage. “That was the play we planned”, he revealed. So would he take that shot again? “Of course. It’s a shot. One of a kind I shoot every day. There is no pressure in me when I take this shot. As I said before, sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn’t”. No regrets, for Darius Adams.
Although they watched their favorite team getting beaten, the fans of Baskonia who are present at Mercedes Benz arena kept singing for a long time after the match. Loud and persistently enough to “force” Laboral’s players to return from the locker rooms in order expressed them their gratitude for their support. “It was great to have the fans come here in Berlin. To hear them in the crowd, rooting for us, it was just amazing”, admitted Adams. “They have been believing in us throughout the whole season. This is big. They give us so much support and energy. And now we have to give back to them by finishing the Final Four with a victory”.
Obviously their presence forms another reason on why Adams and his teammates should try to do their best in order to win the third-place game against Laboral Kutxa. But it’s not the only one. “We have to put our heart on the floor. We have to show respect to the team and ourselves by winning the third-place game. We obviously don’t want to lose both matches here in the Final Four. We want to fight regardless if it’s a battle for the first or the third place”.
They say that what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. Will Laboral Kutxa march to the Liga Endesa playoffs with even greater strength after the Final Four experience? It will definitely motivate us a lot and it is going to help us a lot. Because it was a harsh loss and we don’t want to have that feeling again. Now we will have extra focus and readiness to take care of business in the league”. And what is that business in question? “We are going to try and win the championship”.