Writting from Berlin: Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Bobby Dixon was one of the last players who were remaining in the locker rooms of Fenerbahce before the team’s departure from Mercedes Benz arena. When we asked him what happened in the Final, his answer was simple “We came back but we didn’t finish what we started. We were so close. One rebound away”.
The American point guard had played a key part in his team’s valiant efforts that forced the overtime against CSKA Moscow before the ultimate defeat in the extra period. “I wasn’t trying to be a hero. I was just trying to win” said to Eurohoops about his big three-pointers in the final minutes of regular time. “That’s my game. I responded to what they were throwing on us. Anything that was needed in order to win, I was willing to do it. Rebounds, diving to get the ball. Everything”.
Fenerbahce indeed came back from a 20 points plus deficit, but was subdued in overtime. “We fought hard and we had even gotten the lead after being down with over 20 points. Coming back was something. I am proud of my guys, my teammates in Fenerbahce. We couldn’t have put ourselves in a better situation after falling behind with such a big deficit”.
What was Zeljko Obradovic‘s words to Dixon and his teammates that helped them fight back and achieve their comeback? “Coach told us to keep fighting and get back doing what we usually do. We had to get one stop at a time. Which we did. Then we built some momentum, we started making the shots and we came back in the game”.
And what about the players. When was the point when they said that they must react against CSKA? “We had a gut check at some moment. We didn’t have to talk to each other and say ‘Man… let’s do it’. It was just a time when we had to fight and take no more from our opponents”.
Did it hurt more to lose after achieving such a comeback and believing that victory was close? “It’s hard to lose in any type of Final, but it’s especially hard to lose like that. Either you lose by 20, or 1, you still lose. I am just glad we fought. That’s the only thing I can keep”.
The fans of Fenerbahce never stopped singing, even after they saw their team losing the game. “We appreciate the fans”, Dixon said. “We are just really – really hurt that we let ourselves down and let them down. But we did our best under the previous circumstances in the first half”.
Coach Obradovic said that the trophy was.. stolen. What does Bobby Dixon think about the officiating of the game? “I don’t want to make any excuses with the refs. I am not going to talk about any mistake the refs did. We were in a great position as I said after we had made our comeback. We could have won it”