By Bilal Baran Yardimci / info@eurohoops.net
BERLIN– Fenerbahce Beko star forward Nigel Hayes-Davis is crystal clear in his opinion about the third-place game of the EuroLeague Final Four.
“The third-place game? You mean the most pointless game in Europe? Regardless of league? And division? The most pointless game ever? The third-place game?,” Hayes-Davis told Eurohoops.
If Hayes-Davis believes that about the third-place game, how does he find the motivation to compete in it?
“It’s another opportunity to play basketball,” Hayes-Davis said. “There’s going to be a point in your life where you wish you could play another game. Where you wish you could play basketball. Where you wish you could be with the guys. Where you wish you could be out in front of 15,000, 16,000 fans. You’re going to wish you gonna play. It’s what I know. That’s what I keep in perspective. That even though it’s a third-place game, a pointless game, it’s still an opportunity to play basketball. I’m healthy, I’m alive and I get chance to play a sport that I love. You’re paid well to do it. There’s going to be people here and cheering me to do well. That’s where your mind goes when you are ready to play… the most pointless game in Europe.”
Hayes-Davis and Fenerbahce will face Olympiacos Piraeus in the third-place game Sunday. While the Turkish side fell to Panathinaikos Athens, the Reds lost to Real Madrid.