By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
We are now hours away from the tip-off of the 2022 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four and all four teams have landed in the Serbian capital.
Olympiacos Piraeus faces Anadolu Efes in the first semifinal (May 19, 18:00 CET), in an exciting opener for this year’s Final Four.
“Excited to be here, excited for what we’ve achieved. I’m excited for this opportunity”, told Olympiacos guard Thomas Walkup. “It’s kinda indescribable, you have to be there to really understand it. I’ve seen great basketball environments before on TV, but to be there is just something special, something different”.
“We arrive with big emotions, with big goals, but all other teams that will join this Final Four would [also] like to win the title”, tells Efes head coach Ergin Ataman. “We’d like to make the back-to-back, to protect our title. For the last four years, we did a great job in Anadolu Efes”.
The tension will escalate later on Thursday with the third EuroLeague “El Clasico” of the season, where archrivals Real Madrid and FC Barcelona will fight for a spot in the championship game.
“Experience is always important, for sure. But I also have players that have never been in a Final Four, it will have to be a mix of that experience Sergio [Llull] or Rudy [Fernandez] have, and also the emotion of the guys that are here for the first time. Alberto Abalde, Guerschon Yabusele, Nigel Williams-Goss. I think it’s a great weekend of basketball. I’m very happy to be back in Belgrade”, tells Real Madrid head coach upon his team’s arrival in the Final Four facilities.
“It feels great to be back”, says Alex Abrines. “We’ve been working the whole season to be here and we’re here, so we’re happy. The atmosphere with fans will be crazy. Last year, we were missing that”