By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Who is the most successful Euroleague player the last three seasons? The answer is easy and his name is Vasilis Spanoulis. The leader of Olympiacos in the back to back titles was also the final four MVP in Istanbul and London. The most valuable player of last season and the man who inspired the rest of his teammates in two unprecedented come backs in the finals of 2012 and 2013.
On Sunday night, a new champion will be crowned and Olympiacos will have to give up his crown after two years and five days in European basketball’s “Everest”!
That’s why Eurohoops contacted V-Span and asked him to relive that incredible two year run!
“Those were magic moments. They will stay forever carved in our hearts and in our minds. It will be illustrious pages in the history of the club, between the fans, among all of us who are members of Olympiacos. Our biggest achievement is that we were a relatively low budget team, compared to other contenders. In the first season we just wanted to get to Top16 and we made it after a hard fight. But in the end, we got the title!
The next season, everyone wanted to beat us. We had again a low budget and we were considered underdogs, but we kept walking on our path. We had a million issues, but in London we relived the same moments, surprising everyone in the world of sports with our games. Magic moments, which can’t be described with words”.
Spanoulis and legendary Tony Kukoc are the only two European players who have won three Euroleague titles as the MVP and the Greek guard never lost a Final Four game. How does his feel about that and about missing this year’s big stage.
“The most important things in sports is duration. When you are on the top, everyone wants to dethrone you. You have to find a way to survive, both in the mental aspect of the competition and also on the court. Of course we don’t like not being in Milan. But on the other hand, you can’t win Euroleague every season.
Specially when we had a really transitional season. Big changes were made in the team’s roster. We fight till the end, we kept our head high. We earned respect the way we competed. We had too many injuries. Our roster kept changing and we used players in different positions than the ones they are used to play. Acie Law was the key player of our success and he missed the season. I had also an injury in a crucial moment, Perperoglou, Printezis, Petway. When you are a new team and you have to many problems, it’s not easy. Still, we demonstrated our character. We have to learn from this year and be better the next one”.
And what he has to say as a spectator for the Final Four? Can he make any predictions? “I will watch the games with great interest. In sports and also in life you can’t only know how to win. You must also learn how to lose. This Final Four seems very open to any result. There’s one underdog, Maccabi and three teams which in theory have the same starting line in their ambitions. Anything goes. I hope that everyone will enjoy the games. It’s the biggest celebration of European basketball in club level. Unfortunately the Greek teams missed the party. It was sweet all these years, but that’s life.
I expect a high scoring game between Barcelona and Real Madrid, because of the way Real likes to play. Barcelona is better in set game situations. Real is great on transition. I expect a big game, which will be decided in a very small point difference. CSKA doesn’t seem to be in great shape, but that doesn’t seem much. However, Maccabi will have the home court advantage. I expect their fans to provide a great boost to the Israelis. As Greek we know what it means to play in a final four and feel the support of your fans”.