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Fabien Causeur did it again at the Final Four

Fabien Causeur did it again at the Final Four

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21 May 20233 Mins read

Fabien Causeur did it again at the Final Four

Real Madrid trailed 74-70 against Olympiacos Piraeus with 5 minutes remaining on Sunday in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game. During an official review, Fabien Causeur gathered all of the Real players on the floor to get together and said a few words.

Real ended up winning its 11th EuroLeague title, using a game-closing 0-7 run to rally past Olympiacos, 78-79. Causeur once again had a strong championship game, coming off the bench to contribute 11 points on 3-of-5 three-point shooting in less than 18 minutes.

Just before the Final Four, Causeur spoke to the official EuroLeague website about that particular topic: his ability to play so well at the Final Four. Causeur had 17 points on 3-of-3 three-pointers and a PIR of 21 to help Real win the EuroLeague title in 2018. In the 2019 semifinals, he shot 6-for-6 on two-pointers on his way to 18 points in a losing effort against CSKA Moscow. Last season, Real beat Barca 83-86 in the semifinals behind 18 points from Causeur.

"I played my whole career for this, man, for these moments. I'm lucky to be in a team like Real Madrid, that pushed me the whole season and bring me on this stage," Causeur said. "I got to give it all back to them. I love basketball. I love these moments, man, they are so special. You cannot imagine! Even when you lose, I still feel like I'm grateful to play."

What did Causeur say in that particular moment to help Real turn the situation around? Just to focus on what his team could do.

"During the season we had games like this where we felt that we had bad calls on us and we lost it a little bit, the focus, you know? And that's when we make mistakes," Causeur said. "I tried to bring the team up because we were down and if we stayed focused, we were going to have an option. And that's what happened, really.

"I felt like we stuck together with the old guys again at the end and it's amazing, man. My second Euroleague, I'm so proud."

Causeur is now a two-time EuroLeague champion but cannot really choose between both titles. This time, he had special motivation.

"Both are different, I cannot tell. I cannot put one over the other, basically, but this one is very special." he said. "It was a tough year for me personally today. My wife is pregnant. She was at the hospital because she was very sick. She was able to be here tonight and I wanted to win it for her."