Writing from Berlin: Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The season MVP proved to be also the Final Four MVP. It’s not usual but Nando De Colo in his best season so far made it.
The French guard of CSKA Moscow won both awards, after two more amazing games in Berlin. De Colo had 22 points and 7 assists in the final and scored a record 30 points along 4 assists in the semifinal.
As he said: “Everyone thinks this is easy because we are CSKA, but this is not true. We have to fight day by day, game by game. This year we were a real team”.
Flash forward some minutes later: The festive mood in CSKA Moscow locker rooms was reaching some incredible heights of revelry. It couldn’t be otherwise, since the Russian team had just been crowned the 2016 Euroleague champion.
Amidst all the noise, and joined smell of cigar and champagne, we managed to talk with the MVP of… everything, Nando De Colo. “Winning MVP is… great. But the most important thing is the title. This game was not easy. But we did it.”
CSKA managed to grab a 20 points plus lead but Fenerbahce fought back and forced an overtime. But in the end, the Russian team prevailed. “We find the way to fight back within each other. Because we are a team”.