By Niki Bakouli/ bakouli@eurohoops.net
Four teams, four dreams and only one winner. Final Fours can be a cruel affair, specially if you are on the losing side. On Thursday last season’s winner, Olympiacos, represented by guard Vasilis Spanoulis and coach Giorgos Bartzokas, was present in London, their opponent from last season’s final and this year’s semifinal CSKA Moscow was also there in the faces of coach Ettore Messina and center Nenad Krstic and also there is a Spanish duel taking place in London between Barcelona of coach Xavi Pascual and leader Juan Carlos Navarro and Real Madrid of coach Pablo Laso and star Rudy Fernandez.
It was kind a typical Final Four press conference, that didn’t produce any new intrigue about Friday’s semifinals. That’s because there is allready enough intrigue in those games, as Krstic implied when he was asked what he learned from last year: “What did I learn last year? I learned how to lose a game on a last-second shot. For my team and for myself it is just a bad memory, but I can say also I learned how to prepare myself physically and mentally. Because this is such a unique event, you play two games in three days, and you have to be mentally and physically prepared. I think we are ready, we had enough time”.
Coach Messina added: “I hope all the bad luck went to CSKA last year and this year we just get a little bit of good luck. The first time I signed for CSKA in 2005, I arrived in a similar situation. The club had just lost in the Final Four in Moscow. Both times I came after disappointments. I was not completely aware of the pain the club had suffered, I could just imagine. So my concern all year long was not to think about the game and just to look ahead. Now, even now. It’s not the right thing to think about last year. We need to show that we are mature, we are looking ahead and we will see on the floor tomorrow.”
One the other side, Olympiacos coach Giorgos Bartzokas is ready: “I am very proud to be here. We have the Rising Star (Kostas Papanikolaou) and the MVP (Vasilis Spanoulis). This happened and these awards are given because of our team play and our team spirit. Our fighting spirit and motivation is great and that is the best recipe to be successful at this level”. Spanoulis agreed: “It will be completely different from last year’s final. Both teams have changed philosophies, have different coaches and some players are different. For me personally it’s another great chance for our team. We don’t need any extra motivation. Being at a huge competition like the Final Four is enough.”
The other semifinal is a Spanish affair between the two eternal rivals of Spanish team sports, Real Madrid and Barcelona. Fernandez is a rookie, but that doesn’t mean he is not confident: “This is a great chance and it is the first time that I am at a Final Four. Real Madrid comes here with great expectations and like Coach Pascual just said, for Spanish basketball fans it is beautiful to experience a Clasico in a Final Four. Αll four teams are candidates to win after a great season, they are all able to lift the trophy. We hope it is Madrid; we have excitement and confidence”. His rival, Juan Carlos Navaro, knows what to do: “This is my seventh Final Four and you fight for this all season. We play a Clasico in this Final Four, which is also special. We also have a rematch of last season’s final. We cannot ask for more and I hope everything goes well”.
Still Barcelona has its share of problems, as coach Pascual admitted: “We are in the same situation as my last press conference in Barcelona. Pete Mickeal is out for the season and Nate Jawai will most probable not play, even though we will try to test his availability until the final minute. Everyone else should play almost for sure even though Marko Todorovic and C.J. Wallace have physical problems. This is the Final Four, you work hard for this all season and we will give everything we have beyond physical problems”.
As for coach Laso, he hopes to relive his triumph as a Real Madrid player in 1995 when the team won the trophy: “It is different to be back as a coach, it has been a long time and we all have changed a lot, but it is a coincidence to be here as a player and now be back to compete as head coach. Few things are similar, basketball has changed a lot over the years, but I still have that desire and cannot wait for the competition to arrive. I hope that we will be able to beat Barcelona, knowing that we face a great team”.