Του Λευτέρη Μούτη/ moutis@eurohoops.net
How does a coaching staff of a finalist prepare their players ahead of the Euroleague final? Eurohoops.net asked the foremost experts, Olympiacos’s coach Giannis Sfairopoulos and Pablo Laso’s assistant Zan Tabak from Real.
For so many days we’ve read everything that has to do with the game plans of all the teams in the Final Four. Olympiacos will face Real in the final of the Euroleague and 24 hours before that, Eurohoops.net analyzes the preparation of the two finalists off the court.
Giannis Sfairopoulos speaks about the ‘red-and-whites’ who have won both finals in which they’ve played in the last three years. Zan Tabak has Final Four experience both as a member of Real’s coaching staff in the last 2 years and as a player of Jugoplastika, when they won three consecutive Euroleague cups.
How will the coaching staffs of Olympiacos and Real relax their players? And how much does the mental preparation count in the end, aside from technique, before such a game?
Ginnis Sfairopoulos: “The mental preparation is very important in how you will perform in a game like this. Before a Euroleague final and especially this one, the right mental preparation is even more important, because Real will play in front of their supporters. The people will try to break our concentration. We have to not allow ourselves to be affected by the fans, a factor that we didn’t face in the semifinal.”
Zan Tabak: “It’s very important that we have so many players who have been through the experience of a Euroleague final before. It’s hard for anyone who comes for the first time at a Final Four to prepare themselves mentally, which essentially leads them to the technical preparation for the game. For instance, they shouldn’t be thinking about the media, the fans, the prehistory.”
How do players unwind before the final? What are you going to tell them to make them relaxed?
Giannis Sfairopoulos: “Every player has his own way of relaxing. I think that experience plays a part in this and we have players that are experienced and the preparation for the semifinal is an added experience for all the players.”
Zan Tabak: “We have to be thinking only of the important things and the things we can control. We have to talk only about the defense, our plan and not talk about what will happen if we win or lose.”
Is the management of such a game different than the rest of the season?
Giannis Sfairopoulos: “We have prepared for these games from the beginning of the year. The basic principles are the same. What we are going to do is the same. We just have to be ready and stick to our plan.”
Zan Tabak: “What is different is that you have to approach a knockout game and a final differently.”