By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
VITORIA-GASTEIZ– Not a lot of people can say that they welcomed a child to the world and won the EuroLeague in the same week.
CSKA Moscow guard Nando De Colo saw his second daughter, Alicia, being born on May 13. Six days later, on Sunday (19/5), he lifted the EuroLeague trophy for the second time on his career.
“It’s the best week of my life,” De Colo told Eurohoops. “Just amazing.”
The climate in the locker room of CSKA Moscow following their win over Anadolu Efes in the Final and their coronation as 2019 EuroLeague champions, wasn’t only festive but oozed of unique type of warmth among the players of the team.
This kind of atmosphere reflected the camaraderie that has been built among De Colo and his teammates. An extra reason why the French star considers winning this continental title so special.
“We are family,” De Colo said. “With the players we can discuss whatever we want. Sometimes we are more together than with our families actually. So it’s a great feeling to fight until the end and to finish this EuroLeague season with the title.”
De Colo, who finished the Final Four with team-high averages of 19.0 points and 23.5 PIR, plus 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists, thinks that this title feels different than the one of 2016, in Berlin.
“It’s not the same feeling. 2016 was the first one for CSKA in many years and my first overall. Everybody was really happy. But three years have gone since then. We fought back and we got it.”
“You don’t win the EuroLeague every day,” De Colo added.