By Cesare Milanti / info@Eurohoops.net
KAUNAS, Lithuania – Live from the Fan Zone organized in Kaunas, the Tip-Off Event on the eve of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four took place with Joe Arlauckas presenting and the duo of Luka Doncic and Olympiacos fans stealing the show.
Dzanan Musa, Tomas Satoransky, Kostas Papanikolaou, and Mike James represented Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Olympiacos, and AS Monaco with their head coaches Chus Mateo, Saras Jasikevicius, Georgios Bartzokas, and Sasa Obradovic for the press conference.
“You just go through the process and try to be better and better game by game, and see what brings you at the end of the Regular Season”, Kostas Papanikolaou said at the beginning of the press conference representing Olympiacos, which was supported highly by fans outside of the venue, who loudly pushed the red-and-white side.
Thousands of Greek fans are expecting to be in Kaunas starting from the semifinal against AS Monaco and made their presence felt during the Tip-Off Event as well, shouting Olympiacos chants so loud that they could be heard inside the Fan Zone venue.
They weren’t the only “guests” of the morning, as Luka Doncic appeared on the screen to make a question to Real Madrid‘s representatives. Dzanan Musa, who will play his first Final Four after being inserted in the All-EuroLeague First Team, answered it.
“It’s a privilege to be here, it’s my first Final Four so it’s a real special feeling. I’m believing our team is in a great spot right now, we are trying to get the same momentum in the Final Four. It’s not going to be easy, but we try to take game by game. The veterans helped us mentor every day, we hope to translate that experience from there”, the Bosnian player said.
The Slovenian phenomenon wasn’t the only one making an appearance, as another EuroLeague legend like Kyle Hines also made a question, asking to coach Bartzokas about the differences between this year’s Olympiacos and the one in 2013, which managed to lift the EuroLeague trophy in London.
“Kyle was a big part of that EuroLeague title in 2013 in London”, the Greek head coach opened. “Basically, it was a completely different situation, they won the title the year before in 2012. We were back-to-back EuroLeague champions and it wasn’t easy at all. We had a very strong team with some new pieces, and the team got a lot of confidence. We believed in our team, we’ve always had legendary players. Team effort was always the key, and that’s what I try to bring every year. This is what we have to base also this year”, Georgios Bartzokas added.
In Jasikevicius home town
Among the others, Sarunas Jasikevicius took some moments to talk about what his Final Four means for him, coming from the beginning of his head coaching career with Zalgiris in Kaunas. “It’s great to be here home, congratulation to the city of Kaunas for hosting this great event. This is my easiest Final Four, my family is here and they don’t have to travel. All the surroundings are very comfortable, and the arena is like home for me. Having been through a lot of these situations helps a lot”, Saras first said.
Saras was also asked if he has a routine during this kind of competition after participating in 10 of them first as a player and then as a head coach. “The first Final Four in Barcelona in 2003 was brutal. I didn’t sleep for a week. You try to catch hours because of the nerves. We understand what the guys are going through. once you go through so many times, you know what you expect”, FC Barcelona’s head coach replied.
On the final part of the event, Sasha Vezenkov appeared after receiving the MVP of the Season Award from his family members in another venue. “I wanna thank everybody who awarded me. I wanna thank the whole organization of Olympiacos, the head coach, and all the guys who are working behind the cameras who are every day for us, helping us. I’m really excited to be here”, Sasha Vezenkov said.
The 2022-23 MVP answered a question relating to last year’s defeat in the semifinal against Anadolu Efes. “Last year was our first Final Four as a team, for a lot of us was something new. Our motivation was to be again here. We made it, we worked hard. We are very happy to be here, more motivated to win the trophy”, the Bulgarian added.
Asked if he would like to change his MVP Award for the EuroLeague trophy, sitting next to it in the press conference, Sasha Vezenkov had no doubts. “We have been fighting for this cup for ten months. This cup is about everything, we are fighting for it every day”, Olympiacos’ small forward finally commented.