This is what the protagonists had to say after the Final showdown between Virtus Segafredo Bologna and Frutti Extra Bursaspor.
Final, Post-game quotes: Virtus vs. Bursaspor
Sergio Scariolo, Virtus Segafredo Bologna head coach
“We are extremely happy. It’s been a great EuroCup. I want to thank first of all the team, organization from Mr. Zanetti to Luca [Baraldi] and Paolo [Ronci] for allowing me to come here and coach this team. It was not easy to leave the NBA, but this is a day you might think it was worth it. And thank you for respecting my requirements, my choices about players, my decisions about the roster. I have to tell you that they really tried to do everything and were extremely supportive I am really grateful for this.
“Thank you to the fans for the great atmosphere tonight. We felt their support throughout the whole season, even in the first half when we had so many injuries, crazy one after another. We thought it was a typical unlucky season where you don’t figure it out. But finally, after February, we found some health and then we incorporated a couple of new players who gave us a little more experience and maturity.
“Thank you to the team for letting me coach them. For showing me deep trust for everything I was throwing at them at practice from the very beginning. I felt this trust and I dare to really deep to try to improve and raise the level of our competitiveness. And also thank you for standing through my harsh moments because I know that sometimes I am really tough on players. This probably compensates for everything.
“Thank you to my family. My wife and my daughter here, my mom and sister in Brescia and my son in the US. Thank you to the staff, coaches. Unbelievable job. Conditioning coaches, physical therapists, doctors, managers. Unbelievable job. This cup is theirs and on to the next one.
“Time to enjoy of course. But we feel that we have good chemistry, a good cohesiveness. We have something a little special right here and this doesn’t happen every year. We have to build on that and hopefully, we will.
“Once again congratulations to our opponent, very fierce, very proud. Never gave up. This EuroCup was defined as the best ever. I have not played so many to make my judgment, but for sure the level was very high. Many great teams couldn’t make it and we are humbled to have done it. Once again congrats to our opponent for their unbelievable EuroCup competition as well.”
Dusan Alimpijevic, Frutti Extra Bursaspor head coach
“Not disappointed. I am very proud I am very happy. I am glad to work with players like this. I am not disappointed. We played good. We fought. It was difficult to play like this without [a point guard]. And congrats to coach and their team, organization, GM and everybody in Virtus for a well-deserved EuroCup championship and good luck in the EuroLeague next season. They deserve it.
"For us it was difficult to match up with this team when we have two guys with 2 fouls in the first 3 minutes – it was less than 3 minutes. It was some crucial possessions for us. PG and five guys. You could see how difficult it is to organize when your first PG is out after 2-something minutes. Then it’s not just a problem, it’s also the third and the fourth foul. But it’s our fault because we didn’t adjust to the criteria. Also we let them have 17 or 18 offensive rebounds and we can say we lost this final because of offensive rebounds.”
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Kyle Weems, Virtus Segafredo Bologna forward
“I’m so proud of this team. Man, we went through a lot this year. A lot of injuries, COVID, whatever. We kept fighting, our coaches kept coaching. This is what it’s about. I got my kids, my wife. My family back home is watching. But this is for the city of Bologna!”
Milos Teodosic, Virtus Segafredo Bologna guard
"Bursaspor is a great team that played with a lot of confidence. We knew that before the game, so we put the effort and energy in from the first second, defensively. I believe that we were controlling the game for almost 40 minutes, and that shows that we really grew as a team."
Daniel Hackett, Virtus Segafredo Bologna guard
I am very happy. As I said earlier, credit to Bursa for playing an amazing playoffs, an amazing season. They fought hard. They even tonight proved that they battled throughout the game, but we had more. The last three months have been interesting. We came in and we tried to fit into the team. The guys were great, the staff was great to make things work in a quick way. What can I say, this format was cutthroat. One game and you’re out. We really had to stay focused. These guys were excellent. We really switched it on defense and we played a good game. And man, these fans, amazing. You gotta give credit to these fans because they really pushed us through the roof.”
Mam Jaiteh, Virtus Segafredo Bologna center
“This is a crazy feeling. It cannot be better than this. I can’t even describe how I feel now. I need to just take a couple of days to realize because now I don’t realize, I’m just so happy, so proud. We went through a lot of ups and downs. I’m just very happy. Look at these guys. An amazing group… We knew that it’s a team, crazy credit to them. It’s a team that has crazy heart. They will never give up, they will never let us win. We just give them as much respect as they deserve because they really deserve a lot. We had some ups and downs in the game, but we always respected them and we knew that until the clock stopped, we couldn’t relax. So we’re very proud. Very happy. I have no words; I’m just truly happy. I hope this feeling lasts forever.“
Isaia Cordinier, Virtus Segafredo Bologna forward
“It’s incredible, man. First playoff, first win. I feel blessed. Thanks to my teammates, the organization. We finished the job tonight and it’s addictive. I just want more. Defense [was the key]. That’s what we worked on the last couple of months. Identity, fight, team spirit and winning plays like Kyle [Weems] had 2 amazing blocks to seal the win. That’s winning basketball… We were hungry. The fans, thanks to them. Crazy atmosphere. Love the fans here, love Bologna, love Virtus.”
JaKarr Sampson, Virtus Segafredo Bologna center
“This is amazing. I feel a little spoiled. Just my first time in Europe and I’m a part of something like this, so it’s amazing to be a part of and I am looking forward to the future. We just jumped on them early and kept the pressure on them. They’re a good team, they were fighting to get here this whole time and we just had to keep our foot on them. We had to keep the pressure on them and we came out with the W. I love Bologna fans. It’s amazing. The energy. We feed off that and it’s contagious.”
David Dudzinski, Frutti Extra Bursaspor forward
“It’s just one of those games where it’s tough for us to win. We got Derek [Needham] with 4 fouls in the first half, Kevarrius [Hayes] with 2 fouls in the first 2 minutes. It’s just a tough game. We played our hearts out and congratulations to Bologna. They deserve it… We’re really trying to keep this going. We have a great environment and there’s nothing to hang our heads about. We put ourselves on the map this year and we’re gonna grow from this.”
John Holland, Frutti Extra Bursaspor forward
“We gave it all. We surprised a lot of people. It’s tough because I feel like we deserved it, but that’s the way the game goes. Congratulations to Virtus. They’re a great team. I’m okay with it because that’s the way the game goes. We played as hard as we could and we didn’t win.”