By Alex Madrid/ info@eurohoops.net
VITORIA-GASTEIZ – EuroLeague Final Four action will come on Friday. A day earlier, on Thursday, the head coach and a player from both CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid took part in the Opening Press Conference. The two clubs will compete for a spot in the Finals, but Pablo Laso has one more reason to be excited ahead of the 2019 EuroLeague Final Four.
The 51-year-old head coach returned to his birthplace Vitoria-Gasteiz and is ready to lead the Whites. “I grew up here. I’m very proud to be back here and that my city is hosting a Final Four” he admitted. Later asked to compare last year’s championship squad to his current team, he answered: “Important players have left, but important players have arrived.”
With the Final Four to be played at Spain, Laso and Facundo Campazzo, his player that accompanied him, attracted more questions from the gathered media. However, the 28-year-old Argentinian preferred to keep it simple mentioning: “I want to enjoy the Final Four and hope we win the final.”
Itoudis: “There are no secrets”
CSKA Moscow’s boss, Dimitris Itoudis, explained: “I wish I had some kind of secret to keep it for my team and my players. There are no secrets”. The Greek head coach added: “I said as a joke to my players when we ended the series against Baskonia that this will give us an advantage in the Final Four. But Madrid also played many times here and their coach was born in the city. So we have to do it our way.”
His player and the Russian side’s captain, Kyle Hines, looked back on the 2018-19 season and said: “We’re all competitors. We fought all year long to get to play for this title.”
Watch the full Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four Opening Press Conference: