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Mikael Jantunen, Paris: 'We clearly deserved to win'

Mikael Jantunen, Paris: 'We clearly deserved to win'

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17 April 20247 Mins read

Mikael Jantunen, Paris

EuroCup champions! It's still an unbelievable feeling. It was, for sure, one of the main goals for the season that we set out as a team. We just went out and did it through the hard work we put in and I also think we clearly deserved to win the competition. We had a great season. I think I said it earlier already, it goes back to the way we started working from the first day, and that as a group, we knew what we wanted to achieve. It was always on our mind and we worked for it really hard.

We had a strong start to Game 1 of the finals. Of course, we were super locked in and focused. We were really set up to go out there and deliver the first punch, from the tip-off. And that's exactly what we did! We came out playing great basketball with high intensity. It all started with our defense. We were super, super locked in and we were on the same page as a team the whole first half. Our coaches got us well-prepared and we knew exactly what we were supposed to do.

"My first memory is being at the bottom of the pile, just yelling with everybody else from the team."

Of course, it was a different setup going into Game 2. It was an away game with the home team with its back against the wall. We knew Bourg was going to come out and be ready to play and that it wasn't going to be anything like the first game. And of course, it was different. We knew it was going to be a battle, a long battle, and we had to work for it all 40 minutes, to give it everything we had. We knew that going in and a lot of credit goes to Bourg. They played a great game at home and their fans were amazing. It was a great atmosphere for the whole game. It was a battle.

In Game 2, we got some stops and hit some big shots early in the fourth quarter. I got wide-open shots because my teammates found me. And then the last three was Tyson [Ward] on the fast break, the way we want to play, fast-paced. TJ [Shorts] found him in the corner. Hey, it's just the way we play! We just got to keep it going and at some point, we are going to get our chance to make a run and we for sure used it. And it was a crucial time in the game and we were ready to use the moment when it came to us.

I don't remember much of the on-court celebration, but I remember being at the bottom of the pile with TJ and Nadir. It's not blurry, but there were just a lot of emotions. We are a very, very happy group of people, the feeling is kind of hard to describe at the same time because it still takes some days, maybe months to figure out how we actually felt. But my first memory is being at the bottom of the pile, just yelling with everybody else from the team. That's the main thing I can remember from the on court celebrations.

We all went to the press conference room to throw water on TJ and Coach Iisalo. I have no idea whose idea was! I remember Nadir was excited about it, so maybe Nadir had something to do with it. He was pushing for it, but everybody just grabbed some water and we were waiting for him. Coach went to speak for a little bit and then it was go-time. It wasn't that much, I think Nadir got a little bit of his startup, but then the whole team was ready for it though. I heard Tyson asked TK about his 2K skills during the press conference. I didn't hear the question. I try to stay away from their 2K talk, it usually causes a lot of arguments and disagreements. So I take a step back from their 2K playing.

After the game, we stayed in Bourg. We went to the hotel and were told that our families and friends were there. We had dinner and just enjoyed the night in Bourg. The next day we took a train to Paris, had some rest and after that, we met at the town hall of the 18th area in Paris, where our fans showed up. It was nice, and close how you usually celebrate a championship, or that's what I think it is. I haven't won too many yet, but it was nice. We celebrated with the people who did it: the staff, the team members and their families. We just enjoyed our time and their company.

"We still have some unfinished business for the season."

It's great to see people in Paris so excited about basketball and the change from the beginning of the season until now. A lot has to do with the fans and I want to thank them for supporting us on a daily basis. We have worked hard to get the fans into the game. For that, you need to win and play entertaining basketball. You have to achieve stuff to get people interested, and I think the team has done it so far this year. People are interested in seeing us play and that's what gets the fans going. The fans make sure the gym is loud and when you go to a place like that with that atmosphere, it's a good experience and you usually want to come back. And that's how fans might find their way back to the gym. Hopefully, our fan base will still grow from this.

It's been a lot of celebrating but also a lot of recovering. We still have some unfinished business for the season. We have a couple of regular season games left before the French League playoffs and then we are going to go for a third trophy. It is going to be a super hard challenge with a lot of good teams in the French League, but it's exciting. We don't know too much about next season yet but of course, playing in the EuroLeague has been a personal goal of mine. I am excited for opportunities like that to come forward. And then also some national team action in the summer, so it's going to be a very exciting spring-summer, getting ready for next year.