In Berlin the echo of Kaunas sounds. Starting this Friday in the German capital, Real Madrid defends the title of Euroleague champion celebrated last year in the Lithuanian city when that miraculous basket by Sergio Llull still beats with 3.2 seconds left against Olympiacos (78 -79). Precisely the team coached by Georgios Bartzokas crosses the path of the whites again, this time in the semifinals (9:00 p.m., Movistar), while Panathinaikos and Fenerbahçe collide on the other side (6:00 p.m., Movistar). The four have tasted the honey of being crowned in this competition.
Two Greek teams and one Turkish team stand against Chus Mateo’s Madrid, three beasts against the king of Europe, owner of 11 crowns to the eight of the now exiled CSKA Moscow. Passion is guaranteed in the Final Four by some hot-blooded fans and by the competitiveness of three rivals led by very recognizable coaches: Bartzokas, Ergin Ataman (Turkish in charge of Panathinaikos in which Juancho Hernangómez joins) and Saras Jasikevicius, in seeking personal revenge for the success that eluded him in three consecutive years in charge of Barça.
The Barça team was defeated in the fifth quarterfinal match at the Palau by an Olympiacos that secured a semi-final against Madrid in the face of a dog. “They are absolutely unbreakable in defense,” warns Chus Mateo, chosen by his European colleagues on the bench as the best coach in the Euroleague ahead of Ataman. “They are a brave team, that fights to the maximum, never gives up. They are gladiators. They will take the game to a few possessions. We play more fluid, happy, but I already tell you that we are not going to reach 100 points,” adds the coach, more than vindicated after the Pablo Laso era for his peak in Kaunas and today waiting to renew his contract with the white house (seven players also conclude their relationship: Rudy, on the verge of retirement, Llull, Sergio Rodríguez, Causeur, Hezonja, Poirier and Tavares).
It will be a clash of styles. Madrid broke the record for wins in a regular phase (27) as the highest scoring team of the season (88.2 points) and with the most assists (20.4) and rebounds (36.8) per game. Opposite, Olympiacos presented the best defense of the championship (75 points on average against) and boasts a battery of interior men (Fall, Milutinov, Petrusev) that looks into the eyes of the white towers, orphaned in addition to the injured Deck.
“The trophies speak for themselves,” says Rudy Fernández to reinforce the weight of history. It is Madrid’s ninth presence in the last 11 editions of the Final Four. To the laurels in 2015, the first achieved after 20 years of drought, 2018 and 2023 seek to unite a new one that would mean a consecutive double that the club tied on two occasions an eternity ago: in 1964-65 and 1967-68. By the way, it is in his hands to break another curse: the best in the regular phase has never been champion under the current system.
“We put the pressure on ourselves,” summarizes Chus Mateo; “When I took the team it seemed like a pipe dream to be in two final phases in a row.” The first was won by hanging from a colossal Tavares and the illustrious veterans who still ask for one last dance. In the second he is the rival to beat. In the pavilion renamed Uber Arena, with thousands of Greek and Turkish throats in the stands, where Rudy raised the unforgettable 2022 Eurobasket to the sky, three hungry wolves are hunting for the champion.
Schedules and TV. Friday. Semifinals: Panathinaikos-Fenerbahçe, 6:00 p.m. (Movistar) and Real Madrid-Olympiacos (9:00 p.m., Movistar). Sunday. Match for third place, 5:00 p.m. (Movistar). Final, 8:00 p.m. (Movistar).
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