At high noon on Friday at Stark Arena, the head coaches and key players from the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finalists, Real Madrid and Anadolu Efes Istanbul, met with the media. 

Championship Game press conference quotes, Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Here is what forward Guerschon Yabusele of Real Madrid and All-EuroLeague guard Vasilije Micic of Anadolu Efes Istanbul had to say about their semifinal victories and looking ahead to the championship game.

### Guerschon Yabusele

"I am just happy to be here, excited to play the game tomorrow. I can't wait to be on the court, fight with my team and, of course, try to win the game.

"\[My teammates\] have a lot of experience so, for sure, we will have a talk before the game. We have the whole day to prepare the game for tomorrow, so I will be talking to them. They have always been talking to us. We will just try to prepare and try to bring our best for tomorrow's game.

"It is two different types of basketball, the NBA and Europe, but it's true that the winning mentality is still here. Playing over there or playing here, I still have to play with a lot of energy, bring everything that I can on the court to try to win the game. It's been good so far with the team and I am just happy to be here.

"I just feel grateful. I am just enjoying every day of my life, just trying to get better and learn every day from the people around me: players, coaches, family, friends. I am just glad and happy to be part of his organization and part of this team. Like you mentioned, since \[leaving\] ASVEL and coming here, things went my way, I would say. Of course, I am pretty happy about it. I feel blessed every day, but I am just ready to work and get better every day."

### Vasilije Micic

“It is my pleasure to be here. Congratulation to Real Madrid for reaching the final. Congrats to my teammates also. I am very happy to share one more time the experience of the final. Every time is a different experience, but at the same time a great privilege. Tomorrow will be definitely an interesting match. Both teams had a great season and we will be happy to be there.

“First of all, experience from this Final Four is unique because of what the coaches just mentioned. A slower start of the season with a lot of ups and downs. But that triggers spite inside of you. At the moment when you lose 12 games in a row on the road, you realize something is not right. A light turns on, an alarm, that something needs to change. From the start, when we got together, I keep saying that every player has an individual motivation to prove and show in his best light. With such individuals, when they come together into a team like us, the results do not lack. What I like the best, when someone talks about Real Madrid and the tradition and the winning mentality they have, I think we did that in the past four years and I am very happy to be a part of this story with Efes.

“In my case, about injury, I got hit in the second quarter, so as you all saw, I played until the end and I found a way to contribute and to be involved all game long. Today we will see, but I think it’s not that serious.

“I am glad to represent my country and my city at such a wonderful event. When talking about the Serbian mentality, it is sometimes maybe exaggerated by the media. But as a nation, we have a positive attitude in difficult situations. We like to take responsibility. I grew up with a lot of quality players who have also done that and hoped I will be in that position one day. I did not have many opportunities to decide games and be successful in doing that in the past, but it is a really nice feeling and I am very glad it happened here.

“Honestly, I expected \[to be\] fouled \[on the last possession\] because we struggled with free throws in the last couple of possessions, but when I saw that they are not going to make a foul, I had one situation in my mind. It was actually the second game in Piraeus when I also had a similar situation and I took too early a shot against Fall instead of waiting for the last second to shoot the ball, so that was the only thing I had in my mind, to shoot in the last second and not give them an opportunity to attack back and score once again a buzzer-beater like Sloukas did. So the idea was only to wait until the end and try to be ready in the last second, last moment. And thank God, even though it was not such a clear shot, I made it.

“Honestly, in the moment of injury in the semifinals, and even before that moment since I am coming back from an injury, it is a situation I try to deal with as I go. It's a reality for all players on this level, to deal with those obstacles as fast as possible. At the moment I felt a little scared because it was an important game and I knew we had a problem in our backcourt rotation. But I managed to stay calm and it led me to find a little different style of game in the second half. Despite some missed shots, I felt good enough to carry out the game until the end. I think I had excellent help from Shane, who led us the entire time, and later Elijah Bryant who made a nice run for all of us in the third quarter. It gave us additional courage for the finish of the game. It is all part of the game and you have to deal with it. All previous experiences are useful for me, I try to learn from each as quickly as possible. Also, the experience from the Final Four in 2018 here in Belgrade influenced a lot about how I approached this game and generally how I approach all other games. And that would be that it is just one game, like any other, and staying calm on the floor is the key, to stay patient until the end.

“Actually, we don’t talk too much about \[making history\]. I am happy that we have reached so far great results and this one is one of them. As everybody here knows, the best feeling is when you win a title. For us, we will not have any lack of motivation. It is really absurd to talk about that. Each player is ready, I think we just have to be calm, we have to be focused all game long because as Coach Laso mentioned yesterday against Barcelona, too, you cannot win in the first or 31st minute, you have to play until the end. And in the end, we will see who is better.”

Championship Game press conference quotes, The Players

Vasilije Micic and Guerschon Yabusele - Championship Game Press Conference - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Real Madrid v Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2022-05-21T17:00:00.000Z)

Euroleague Basketball's gamification strategy adds blockchain technology and Web3 space

Euroleague to add new fantasy dimension, Ultimate Champions 

For fans, one of the greatest advantages of NFT Gamification is being able to own the assets they play with, which readies them for a future in which interoperability will be the norm, and their devotion will enable them to experience new products and perks. The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague will be part of the Ultimate Champions platform, developed by Unagi, starting with the 2022-23 season. Ultimate Champions is a completely free-to-play fantasy game with officially licensed digital cards of your favourite basketball players that you can fully own, collect and trade because they are NFTs.

Ultimate Champions launched its fantasy football game in April of 2022 with over 35 clubs, including the English Premier League powerhouse Arsenal FC, and has now set its sights on the second most popular sport on the planet: basketball. Ultimate Champions is fulfilling its vision of becoming the go-to fantasy sports platform for all major sports through this long-term partnership with Euroleague Basketball, which is the top professional basketball management company in Europe. With over 500 games every season across the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7Days EuroCup, it is perfectly suited to this new era of fantasy gaming.

Euroleague to add new fantasy dimension, Ultimate Champions

Unagi's co-CEOs, Charlie Guillemot and Remi Pellerin, stated: "We are really excited about the partnership with the Euroleague. As lifelong fans, we know the passion, energy and enthusiasm brought by both the EuroLeague and EuroCup. We have been impressed by their new corporate strategy – focusing on youth, urban locations, and new distribution channels – including the Web3 ecosystem. We believe the Ultimate Champions platform provides a new way for European basketball fans to engage with their teams and players. The EuroLeague is the anchor of our strategy around basketball for our product expansion. Let's ball!"

Roser Queralto, Chief Business Officer at Euroleague Basketball, said: "We are honored that Unagi has chosen Euroleague Basketball to expand their Ultimate Champions platform into new sports, basketball in particular. It is a unique fan engagement platform that is currently being built on top of renowned football properties, and that will grow exponentially thanks to basketball and the EuroLeague. That is a testament to our gaming strategy and the legacy of the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge community."

French company Unagi will launch the NFT game next season.

Euroleague Basketball's gamification strategy adds blockchain technology and Web3 space

Here are some interesting facts you might not know about Real Madrid.

Real Madrid: Did you know? Championship Game edition

...Real Madrid has the chance to win its 11th EuroLeague title? It leads the all-time standings with 10 titles, but only three of them have come in the last 35 years. Real has won the competition in 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1974, 1978, 1980, 1995, 2015 and 2018.

...Real looks for its 19th EuroLeague Championship Game appearance? It leads the all-time list with 18 championship game appearances. Maccabi Tel Aviv has been to 14 EuroLeague and one SuproLeague title game. CSKA Moscow has reached the EuroLeague Championship Game 14 times. 

...Real has the chance to lift its 17th continental trophy? In addition to its 10 EuroLeague titles, Madrid has won four Saporta Cups, a Korac Cup and a ULEB Cup – currently 7DAYS EuroCup.

... Rudy Fernandez belongs to a select group of players to have won both the EuroLeague and the EuroCup titles? Fernandez won the EuroCup with DKV Joventut Badalona in 2008 and two EuroLeague crowns with Real in 2015 and 2018. The list includes two other Spanish players: Felipe Reyes and Ricky Rubio, and also features stars like Nando De Colo, Nick Calathes or Romain Sato. 

...Fernandez and Sergio Llull belong to a group of 23 players who have won the EuroLeague, EuroBasket and World Championship titles? Llull and Fernandez are two of the four players on the list not hailing from the former Soviet Union or former Yugoslavia; Felipe Reyes and Juan Carlos Navarro are the others. The list includes all-time greats such as Arvydas Sabonis, Drazen Petrovic and Toni Kukoc.

...Fernandez headlines the short list of players to have won a World Championship, EuroBasket, EuroLeague and EuroCup?  He is joined only by Dejan Tomasevic and Reyes. 

...Llull and Fernandez are in their fifth championship game? They made it this far in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018. The last Spanish player to reach five EuroLeague Championship Games was Rafa Rullan, who was in six finals (1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1985)

...Coach Pablo Laso is in his fifth EuroLeague Championship Game, too? He joins Bozidar Maljkovic and Lolo Sainz in a fifth-place tie. Zeljko Obradovic (11 + SuproLeague) leads the table, followed by Ettore Messina (9), Pedro Ferrandiz (7) and Alexander Gomelskiy (6). 

...Llull is one of two EuroLeague MVPs present at the Championship Game? Llull earned that honor two seasons ago.  Vasilije Micic was the 2020-21 EuroLeague MVP.

...Llull is the third-best scorer in Final Four history? He has amassed 182 points. Only Nikos Galis (231 points) and J.R. Holden (194) are ahead of him. 

...Llull has a good chance to climb into first place on the Final Four's career assists list? He already ranks ties for second place with former teammate Sergio Rodriguez, each with 56 assists. Theo Papaloukas leads the all-time charts with 59 assists in Final Four action.

...Adam Hanga and Tavares are two of the three former EuroLeague Best Defenders at the 2022 Championship Game? Hanga won the trophy in 2017 and Tavares did it in 2019 and 2021. Bryant Dunston of Efes (2014, 2015) has also won the award in the past.

...Hanga can become the first Hungarian player to win the EuroLeague title? Kornel David came closest when he reached the championship game with Tau Ceramica in 2005.

...Hanga is the first player to make it to the Final Four with three different Spanish teams? Hanga played the 2016 Final Four with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and also made it with FC Barcelona in 2021. 

...Fernandez is tied for third place in steals in Final Four history? He has collected 18, just like Dimitris Diamantidis. Holden ranks first (24), followed by Victor Khryapa (22).

...Fernandez and Llull can win their third EuroLeague title? The last Spanish players to win three EuroLeague titles were Rafael Rullan, Juan Antonio Corbalan and Luis Maria Prada with Real in 1974, 1978 and 1980.

...Jeffery Taylor is the only Swedish player to have won the EuroLeague? 

...Alberto Abalde can join an exclusive list of Adidas Next Generation Tournament MVPs who also won the EuroLeague title? Abalde was the ANGT MVP in 2013 with Joventut Badalona. Luka Doncic is the only player to get both – he was the ANGT MVP in 2015 and won the EuroLeague in 2018 with Real. Only eight players won both titles, and only four  of them won the EuroLeague being an active Final Four player: Doncic, Nikita Kurbanov, Jonas Maciulis and Alexey Shved.

...Gabriel Deck can join a list of Argentineans that won the EuroLeague title? The list features Hugo Sconochini (Virtus 1998, 2001), Facu Campazzo (Real 2015, 2018), Manu Ginobili (Virtus 2001), Pepe Sanchez (Panathinaikos 2002) and Andres Nocioni (Real 2015). Nicolas Laprovittola of FC Barcelona can also join this list in 2022.

Here are some interesting facts you might not know about Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul: Did you know...? Championship Game edition

...Efes has a chance to win a second consecutive Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title? Maccabi Tel Aviv (2004, 2005) and Olympiacos Piraeus (2012, 2013) are the only teams to do this since the turn of the millennium.

...Efes became the first Turkish team in any sport to win a European competition? It lifted the Korac Cup in 1996 won its first EuroLeague crown 25 years later.

...Efes returns to the Championship Game with 11 players and the coach who played in the 2021 EuroLeague Championship Game? Sertac Sanli is the only player that is not with the team – but he is at the Final Four with FC Barcelona. Elijah Bryant, Filip Petrusev and Egemen Guven were not with the team last season. 

...Ergin Ataman has won four different continental titles! He won the Saporta Cup with Montepaschi Siena in 2002, the EuroChallenge with Besiktas Istanbul in 2012, the 7DAYS EuroCup with Galatasaray Istanbul in 2015 and the EuroLeague with Efes in 2021. Only two coaches have won four different European competitions: Dusan Ivkovic (EuroLeague, EuroCup, Saporta, Korac) and Aito Garcia Reneses (EuroCup, Saporta, Korac, EuroChallenge).

...Ataman can join an elite group of coaches that won back-to-back EuroLeague titles? Aleksander Gomelskiy (ASK Riga 1958, 1959, 1960), Pedro Ferrandiz (Real Madrid 1967, 1968), Aleksandar Nikolic (Varese 1972, 1973), Sandro Gamba (Varese 1975, 1976), Bozidar Maljkovic (Split 1989, 1990), Zeljko Obradovic (Joventut 1994, Real Madrid 1995) and Pini Gershon (Maccabi 2004, 2005).

Anadolu Efes Istanbul: Did you know? Championship Game edition

Here is where you can watch the Final Four, Third place game between FC Barcelona and Olympiacos Piraeus.

TV Info,  Third place game, Barcelona vs. Olympiacos

**Armenia:** VIVARO

**Australia:** FOX SPORTS

**Balkans:** SPORTKLUB

**Baltic:** TV3 SPORT

**Belgium:** VOOsport World (BETV)

**Bulgaria:** MAX SPORT 1

**Brazil:** BANDSPORTS and DAZN

**China:** CCTV and SDTV

**Czech Republic:** O2 TV SPORT

**Denmark:** VIAPLAY

**Eurasia:** SETANTA SPORTS

**Finland:** VIAPLAY

**Georgia:** SILK SPORT 2 HD

**Germany:** MAGENTA SPORT

**Greece:** NOVASPORTS PRIME

**Iberoamerica:** DIRECT TV GO

**Iceland:** VIAPLAY

**India:** DISCOVERY

**Internet:** [EUROLEAGUE.TV](http://EUROLEAGUE.TV)

**Israel:** 5PLUS

**In Flight:** SPORT 24

**Italy:** SKY SPORT and ELEVEN SPORTS

**Lithuania:** LRT

**Mexico:** ESPN

**Norway:** VIAPLAY

**Philippines:** TAPSPORTS LIVE

**Poland:** POLSAT SPORT EXTRA

**Portugal:** SPORT TV

**Spain:** DAZN & DAZN1

**Sweden:** VIAPLAY

**Taiwan:** ELEVEN SPORTS

**Thailand:** 3BBTV

**Turkey:** beIN SPORTS

**United Kingdom:** FREESPORTS

**Vietnam:** FPT

TV Info,  Championship game, Madrid vs. Efes

**Armenia:** VIVARO

**Australia:** FOX SPORTS

**Balkans:** SPORTKLUB

**Baltic:** TV3 SPORT

**Belgium:** VOOsport World (BETV)

**Bulgaria:** MAX SPORT 1

**Brazil:** BANDSPORTS and DAZN

**China:** ESPN SS2, CCTV and SDTV

**Czech Republic:** O2 TV SPORT

**Denmark:** VIAPLAY

**Eurasia:** SETANTA SPORTS

**France:** L'EQUIPE TV

**Finland:** VIAPLAY

**Georgia:** SILK SPORT 2 HD

**Germany:** MAGENTA SPORT

**Greece:** NOVASPORTS PRIME

**Iberoamerica:** DIRECT TV GO

**Iceland:** VIAPLAY

**India:** DISCOVERY

**Internet:** [EUROLEAGUE.TV](http://EUROLEAGUE.TV)

**Israel:** 5PLUS

**In Flight:** SPORT 24

**Italy:** SKY SPORT and ELEVEN SPORTS

**Lithuania:** LRT

**Mexico:** ESPN

**Norway:** VIAPLAY

**Philippines:** TAPSPORTS LIVE

**Poland:** POLSAT SPORT EXTRA

**Portugal:** SPORT TV

**Spain:** DAZN & DAZN1

**Sweden:** VIAPLAY

**Taiwan:** ELEVEN SPORTS

**Thailand:** 3BBTV

**Turkey:** beIN SPORTS

**United Kingdom:** FREESPORTS

**Vietnam:** FPT

Key stat: Real's fourth-quarter rebounding

FC Barcelona v Real Madrid (2022-05-19T19:00:00.000Z)

Gabriel Deck2- Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21-FFS

I congratulate my players for the victory, I think we did a great effort the whole game, playing against a great team. In the second quarter we had three or four bad minutes and they killed us, they got a 10-point advantage quickly. We played very solid the first, third and fourth quarters.

But Barcelona is a great team and that’s why they got an advantage at halftime because in the second quarter they outplayed us. I’m happy with how the players stayed focused on the gameplan, when at halftime everyone probably thought, ‘Ok, this is finished’, we stayed in there. We kept on fighting offensively and defensively, we looked for the best situations at both ends.

When you have a problem like we did with Nigel so early, it changes your gameplan. But the great thing about my team is that everyone can step up, and they did. We saw that with Fabien on the ball, Alberto bringing it up, Sergi stepped up. The problems we could have with Nigel out, we solved them with Fabien, Alberto, Sergi and Adam. Fabien played with a lot of character, things didn’t go well for him in the first half but he played very solid in the second.

He made 5 points in a row that were very important for us. We always believe that Fabien is someone who will step up in these moments. When somebody makes a great play like Vince did \[to block Laprovittola\], it’s often because somebody did something before. And this time it was Fabien getting in Nico’s way to change the transition and Vince did a great job to block the shot. Generally I think we played a good game offensively. We didn’t lose many balls and we knew how to read and attack their defense to give ourselves an advantage. We had patience in offense, and we were intelligent in possession.

I don’t think we played that badly offensively in the second quarter, but we missed open jumpers and they got an advantage because they could rebound and run, and they do that very well. We lost the rhythm of the game because we were missing shots. Gabi does a lot of good things for the team, and we missed him in the playoffs. Fabien played very well in the last Final Four in Belgrade and today his game was magnificent. I might recommend he should buy a house here! It was a test of faith and being solid in the whole game. You can play well or badly, but the team worked very hard and I am very proud as coach that they kept on believing even when it was difficult.

Since 1st September I’ve always believed we can win these games, when we started preseason. We have lost some games against Barcelona, but we knew today would be a different game, as always. It wasn’t easy, but we never stopped believing. My only mission at half-time was to reinforce this belief. Our three French players were very good. Fabien was very aggressive going towards the basket, attacking. Yabusele hit a very important three at a key moment, and Vince was very dominant offensively and defensively, reading their defense and attacking the basket. I always say it’s not a matter of winning or losing. Pablo Laso is not great because he wins or terrible because he loses. I have to make my team better.

From the games we played before against Barcelona, we learned a lot about what we have to do to play against a great team like that. We showed it today and we were able to play 40 solid minutes. We lost in Belgrade against Zvezda, but we played good. We were missing open shots, but I think we did a lot of good things. Probably it was an important moment to make the team understand you have to do things right. In that game we were not making open jumpers and Zvezda beat us because they played very well. It was a moment for us to understand that you have to play together. If you miss shots you’re not going to beat anyone, but to make those shots you’ve got to work a lot on what basketball means. It’s not only making shots. You’ve got to play defense, get rebounds, make assists, make good screens. A lot of things, that’s the great thing about basketball.

I’ve always had a lot of respect for Belgrade. Lots of great players, great teams, a basketball city. Coming to Belgrade is always special. We were European champs here and now we’re playing another final. For sure Belgrade is going to be in my heart for years. In that last final I was coaching Real Madrid, not Luka. He was one of my players. And I’m very happy to watch him now, the way he’s playing. But I’m very happy to watch my players now. I don’t think too much about Luka now – I love watching him play and I loved coaching him. But I love my players also.

Pablo Laso press conference quotes

Pablo Laso - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21-FFS

Real Madrid edged FC Barcelona 83-86 to make it to the 2022 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game. Real's French players – Fabien Causeur, Vincent Poirier and Gueschon Yabusele – paved the way to this important win. 

Real's French connection seals it

Yabusele scored his team's first 8 points on consecutive three-pointers and a fastbreak slam. He was also the last player to score, on a free throw with 2.4 seconds remaining that fixed the final score. He finished the game with 18 points on 4-for-6 three-point shooting, 8 rebounds and a team-high performance index rating of 24. His first-half efforts allowed Los Blancos to stay in the game.

Real s French connection seals it.mp4

"I'm just proud of the team. We showed a lot of team effort today from beginning until the end," Yabusele said after the game. "We took care of the job and got the win. That was a really intense game. It's a clasico, so it was really tough. We deserved it and I'm really happy about the win."

Poirier arguably had the most critical defensive play of the night, a huge block on Nico Laprovittola that prevented Barca from taking the lead with 52 seconds remaining. Poirier scored all of his 6 points on dunks in the final 8 minutes. He added 5 rebounds and 3 blocks to round out a really solid performance, giving Real much-needed frontcourt options to balance its offense when it mattered most. 

Once again, Causeur delivered for Los Blancos in a Final Four in Belgrade. He had 17 points and a PIR of 21 in the 2018 championship game at Stark Arena. Back in the Serbian capital for a Final Four game, Causeur had another stellar performance: 18 points, 3 steals and a PIR of 18. With the game tied at 75-75, Causeur buried a go-ahead three-pointer and soon scored off a steal to give Real a 75-80 lead with 2 minutes remaining that Los Blancos managed really well until the final buzzer. 

Real's French connection will now try to be ready to deliver in Saturday's championship game against defending champion Anadolu Efes Istanbul at 19:00 CET.

Vincent Poirier - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21-FFS

Fabien Causeur - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21-FFS