Final Four news: Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Final Four news: FC Barcelona

Final Four news: Real Madrid

Final Four news: Olympiacos Piraeus

The Top 10 photos of the week: Adrien Moerman of Anadolu Efes Istanbul sticks his tongue out as he dunks against Milan.

The Top 10 photos of the week: Vladimir Lucic of FC Bayern Munich drives past Barcelona's Rokas Jokubaitis. 

The Top 10 photos of the week: Guerschon Yabusele of Real Madrid dunks in Tel Aviv. 

The Top 10 photos of the week: Paris Lee of AS Monaco keeps the ball away from Olympiacos's Thomas Walkup.

The Top 10 photos of the week: Ognjen Jaramaz of FC Bayern Munich tries to shoot under pressure from Barcelona's Dante Exum and Brandon Davies.

The Top 10 photos of the week: Vincent Poirier helps Real Madrid complete a sweep of Maccabi with this Game 3 dunk.

The Top 10 photos of the week: Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes Istanbul splits the defense against Milan.

The Top 10 photos of the week: Will Thomas of AS Monaco emotes after dunking against Olympiacos. 

The Top 10 photos of the week: Tyler Dorsey of Olympiacos Piraeus drives to the basket in Monaco.

The Top 10 photos of the week: Nigel Hayes-Davis of FC Barcelona defends against Bayern's Ognjen Jaramaz. 

AWARDS

ANGT Finals news

Real Madrid scraped by FC Barcelona in the semifinals despite losing starting point guard Nigel Williams-Goss to injury. Now Coach Pablo Laso must add a player to the roster for Saturday night’s main event. 

Coach Laso’s point guard dilemma

We’ll never know exactly what Laso’s plans for the point guard role were at the Final Four because it all changed when Williams-Goss suffered an injury on the team’s first possession. He was helped off the court after play stopped through a foul at the other end and shortly thereafter was taken to the locker room. 

“Nigel is a player who was providing us with a lot of consistency. He played the point guard position and set the tone in defense, he was running the offense well, and losing him is really bad luck,” Laso said on Friday. “It’s a setback, but that’s all, we cannot do anything. We have to make up for that situation somehow, the best we can.” 

Championship game matchups: Real Madrid vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul

### Backcourt

Everything Efes does starts with its backcourt duo of All-EuroLeague guards Vasilije Micic and Shane Larkin. The two, as well as Elijah Bryant, each played more than 31 minutes and combined to score 52 of the team's 77 points on Thursday. Real will miss injured starting point guard Nigel Williams-Goss, and in his absence, veterans Sergio Llull and Fabien Causeur will need to step up with both scoring and playmaking, just as they did in the semifinals.

### Frontcourt

The towering presence of Walter Tavares and Vincent Poirier is arguably Real's greatest strength. The two intimidators inside, along with forwards Guerschon Yabusele and Gabriel Deck - who both started in the semifinals - dominate the glass; each of these four players has averaged at least 4.8 rebounds per game this season. Efes does not lack in size. The reigning champs have a trio of effective big men in Tibor Pleiss, Bryant Dunston and Chris Singleton, with Adrien Moerman to stretch the floor.

### Bench

With Krunoslav Simon injured and Rodrigue Beaubois contributing off the bench in a limited fashion, Efes has a shortened rotation. Dunston and Singleton were the only two players with significant minutes off the bench in the semifinals and their contributions could be key for Efes. For Real, Alberto Abalde provided a backcourt boost after Williams-Goss's injury on Thursday and Llull has thrived in his role off the bench in recent weeks, while Rudy Fernandez and Jeffery Taylor provide solutions on the wings. Real will need all of that on Saturday.

### Coaches

Both coaches have loads of experience in this situation. It is the third consecutive championship game for Ergin Ataman and the fifth overall for Pablo Laso. Both coaches not only know how to deal with the moment and the situation but also know each other well. Coach Ataman says Efes always sticks to its style of play, but warns to expect the unexpected from Coach Laso.

Vincent Poirier - Real Madrid - EB21-RS31

FC Barcelona and Olympiacos Piraeus are looking to bounce back in the Third Place Game. Here are some keys to this game. 

Keys to victory: Barcelona vs. Olympiacos 

For both teams, the psychological aspect is very important. Olympiacos and Barcelona suffered narrow losses in their semifinal games against Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Real Madrid, so bouncing back is the priority. Olympiacos has the vast majority of fans in the stands, which always counts in this situation. Olympiacos fans will want to see their team get a final win in this EuroLeague season and the Reds should be ready to play aggressively and please them with a victory at Stark Arena.

Barca has been in this situation more often and knows the Third Place Game is usually a run-and-gun showdown. Either team can go on a big run easily, and Barca should be ready for that. Barca relies on its shooters - Kyle Kuric, Alex Abrines, Cory Higgins - to make the difference in this game, looking for easy points in transition. Preventing Moustapha Fall from dominating the paint should be important for Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius's team in order to finish its 2021-22 EuroLeague season in style.

FC Barcelona v Olympiacos Piraeus (2022-05-21T14:00:00.000Z)

FC Barcelona and Olympiacos Piraeus will finish their 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague seasons in the Third Place Game at Stark Arena on Saturday afternoon. 

A look back: Barcelona vs. Olympiacos

This is Olympiacos's third appearance in the Third Place Game. The Reds were in this situation for the first time in 1999 and they downed Fortitudo Bologna 74-63 in Munich, Germany. In 2009, the Reds registered a 79-95 loss against Barca. David Andersen led the winners with 20 points. Lynn Greer had 19 points to lead Olympiacos. After that, the Reds won five consecutive semifinals in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017. 

Barca is in its ninth Third Place Game. It lost its first four - against Aris Thessaloniki in 1989, Panathinaikos Athens in 1994, Efes in 2000 and Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2006 before downing Olympiacos in 2009. After that, Barcelona beat Panathinaikos in 2012 and CSKA Moscow in 2014 and lost against CSKA in 2013. Barcelona is 3-5 in the Third Place Game. Only CSKA (11) has played the Third Place Game more times than Barca.

Thomas Walkup - Olympiacos Piraeus - EB21-RS33

Here are some insightful comments about the game from the protagonists themselves.

Pre-game quotes, third place: Barcelona vs. Olympiacos

### Sarunas Jasikevicius, FC Barcelona head coach 

"First of all, we have to know that this is our next goal: finishing third in the competition. We have to compete and get ready for the remainder of the season in the Spanish League playoffs, as well as getting some players back in shape. It is a mix of things. Like I said, winning the Third Place Game is our next goal. We have to play for our fans here, but that goes without saying. We have to give our best and this is our next game. We have to go for it. They are one of the best teams circulating the ball. They are really good at close-out situations. The key is not allowing them to find close-out situations. They have players who can decide a game like Sloukas, Vezenkov, Dorsey and Walkup."

### Rolands Smits, FC Barcelona

“It’s an important game for us, and we must give everything we have to try to win the game. We want to play hard, come out strong and win in order to finish the tournament with good feelings, as much as we can. I think we were good overall, talking about the whole EuroLeague season. Everyone is now disappointed, but now it’s time to stand up and fight hard.”

### Alex Abrines, FC Barcelona guard  

“The challenge \[of this game\] for us is to display our pride. We now have to think and prepare for the next games to come in the domestic competition and playing against Olympiacos, a great team that will be feeling almost at home, is great preparation. The past cannot be undone, so we must come out strong, play hard, and try to win the game to rebuild our confidence. Even though right now it’s not easy to think of positive things, overall, I think we did a good job this season in the EuroLeague. We fell short of playing our second final in a row, something all of us hoped for, but we will try to be back and go further.”

### Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos Piraeus head coach 

"You know, those games are really difficult for the coaches and the teams, which are very disappointed. Barca and Olympiacos are disappointed because they lost in a tight game, with a different perspective, but we lost. And we have to play now, in a few hours, this game. For Olympiacos, it is important to finish this trip with a win, especially because our fans will be also here tomorrow. Of course, we have to focus on our domestic league; Olympiacos is having an amazing year, we won the Greek Cup and are first in the domestic league, with the playoffs \[home-court\] advantage until the end and we played the Final Four. I can't complain to anybody. This game is very difficult, everybody says that, but it is what it is, we have to play it."

### Thomas Walkup, Olympiacos Piraeus guard

“It’s not about valuing the third-place game but about valuing the game of basketball. We are extremely blessed to be in Olympiacos, playing in the EuroLeague at the Final Four. It would be a shame if we just go out there and don’t take it seriously. That's how each individual has to approach the game. We know there is no significant meaning to the game, but it’s a game of basketball and that’s something I think we must take seriously. Most important is for our fans, they traveled here, they spent money getting here and that means a lot to us. That’s one of the main reasons to take it seriously.”

### Moustapha Fall, Olympiacos Piraeus center

“We just want to finish well, especially for the fans that traveled, although it's a pretty tough game to play. We had a good season, nobody expected us to be so good this year, so we are happy for that, for sure. We are still disappointed about how we finished, but it’s a good step. I think we are building something, and I hope we can keep being successful in the future.”

### Nikos Zisis: Spanoulis coaching is great for the game

After some two decades of competing with and against one another across the world, Nikos Zisis and Vassilis Spanoulis are best friends and godfather's too each other's children.

Zisis came to Belgrade to watch Spanoulis coach the U18 Next Generation Select Team at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals and believes his friend believes has the makings to become a great pro coach, if he so chooses.

"It's strange," the 2008 EuroLeague champion said while watching Spanoulis patrol the sidelines at the ANGT Finals. "Honestly, I believe he can become a great, great coach."

But that wasn't always the case.

"Maybe five years ago I wouldn't have said he he has a coach's mentality, but over the last one-two years, in the many talks I've have with him, I realized that he can do it. He has a coach's perspective. He loves the game. Basketball is like a virus for him. He needs to sit and think and talk about basketball all day long. I believe it will be great for the game if he decides to do it."

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Euroleague Basketball Legend Vassilis Spanoulis was in attendance last night for the <a href=https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>#F4GLORY</a> <br><br>And everyone loved it... <a href=https://t.co/80EexoHgrf>pic.twitter.com/80EexoHgrf</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href=https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1527581589923831810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>May 20, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src=https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js charset="utf-8"></script> 

A 17-year EuroLeague veteran with seven teams, Zisis said the NGS players have a great advantage to be learning from Spanoulis.
 
"I think it's great for these kids to have Vassilis Spanoulis as a coach. They don't have many days to spend with him but there are many things that Vassilis can tell them. I know he talks about all of his great experiences from the past and all the great things he has accomplished," he said.

### The finalists speak at the Championship Game Press Conference

Scant hours after acing their semifinals, protagonists of the teams that will battle for the Euroleague trophy in Belgrade on Saturday appeared at the Championship Game press conference on Friday to discuss the final with the hundreds of international media at the Final Four.

Real Madrid head coach Pablo Laso confirmed that Nigel Williams-Goss, who was injured in the first minute on Friday, will not play in the championship game, and likened it to Anadolu Efes Istanbul coach Ergin Ataman, seated beside him, losing veteran Kruno Simon to injury in the last practice before the team came to Belgrade.

"Ergin and I, we had we had problems, that's for sure. But we are here: period," Laso said. "I think that right now I am in a great position because I am here talking to you. I hoped for this from the beginning of the season."

For his part, Ataman revealed that his own son is a Real Madrid supporter – but only in football, of course.

"In Turkey, there are a lot of fans of Real Madrid. And one of them is my son," the Efes coach said. "He is a member of the junior Real Madrid fan club. Every year we receive a gift from them."

Vasilije Micic, last season's Final Four MVP and the author of the game-winning shot on Friday, said his team can draw inspiration from their famed Spanish opponents. 

"What I like the best, when someone talks about Real Madrid and tradition and the winning mentality they have, I think that we have done that in the past four years," Micic said, "and I am very happy to be a part of this story with Efes."

The newcomer to the dais was Real forward Guerschon Yabusele, who also starred on Friday, but until a year and a half ago had not ever been a EuroLeague player.

"I just feel grateful," Yabusele said. "I am just enjoying every day of my life, trying to get better and learn every day from the peple around me: players, coaches, family, friends. I am just glad and happy to be part of his organization and part of this team."

### Media, Platinum ticket holders take center court 

Action resumed at Stark Arena on Friday morning with the traditional Adidas EuroLeague Media Game, followed by the Euroleague Basketball Platinum & Ambassadors Game. 

There were a lot of well-known faces in the media day. Former EuroLeague champion Ibrahim Kutluay and former EuroLeague player Vladimir Kuzmanovic led the Black Team, coached by 2020-21 7DAYS EuroCup champion Zvezdan Mitrovic. There were four former professional players in the White Team: former EuroLeague and EuroCup champion Dejan Tomasevic, Miroslav Beric, Berni Rodriguez and Dora Panteli, all led by current Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade head coach Dejan Radonjic. The Whites won 40-39 in overtime with a game-sealing free throw by Rodriguez. 

In the platinum & ambassadors Game, 1997 Final Four MVP David Rivers and three-time Alphonso Ford Top Scoring trophy winner Igor Rakocevic led each team. At the end of each game, played in 10-minuted halves, the teams took a group picture to remember the moment. Rakocevic and sports agent Misko Raznatovic each had 11 points to lead their team to a 39-36 win. 

### After dramatic semis, focus shifts to finale 

Perspective is everything. And so was the case with the EuroLeague Semifinals, which set the stage for perhaps even bigger drama in the title-decider on Saturday night.

A newcomer to European basketball would surely gush at the events of Thursday night at Stark Arena. Two games that went to the wire in front of a packed house with loud, boisterous fans. Heroic efforts from superstars and role players alike. High-level basketball for 80 minutes. A grizzled veteran of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague might wink and say, “just another typical night at the EuroLeague Semifinals.”

The two semifinal games decided by a grand total of 6 points is the second-lowest margin of victory in the semis on record. The lowest was just last season when FC Barcelona edged AX Armani Exchange Milan by 2 and Anadolu Efes Istanbul bested CSKA Moscow by 3. Indeed, drama in the semifinals has become the norm.

And with that as the backdrop, the focus in Belgrade will quickly shift to Saturday night’s main event, Real Madrid vs. Efes for all the marbles. It will be the first game since the EuroLeague adopted a season-long round-robin format that neither of the finalists finished among the top three in the regular-season standings, but rest assured these are worthy contenders. 

After all, they collectively took out those top three teams with No. 6 Efes KO’ing No. 3 Milan in the playoffs and No. 2 Olympiacos Piraeus last night while No. 4 Real disposed of the top regular-season team, Barcelona, in Thursday’s second semifinal. 

Over the next 36 hours, countless words will be written about this championship game, analyzing it from all angles, dissecting their previous meetings, parsing words spoken by players and coaches. And then we will get to the biggest game of the season. It’s what we’ve all been waiting for.

### Semifinals are here!

The day has finally arrived! The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four gets underway with both semifinals, Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul and FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid. All EuroLeague fans have been waiting for this moment for a long time. All teams practiced and are ready to go. Olympiacos fans are all around the arena, wearing their red and white uniforms with a lot of pride, but there many Efes fans around, too. A great atmosphere is guaranteed when the ball goes up in the air - Stark Arena, one of the biggest basketball arenas in the worlds, is sold out. 

As always, we will be covering the game on [EuroLeague.net](http://EuroLeague.net). Our Game Blog will be active before the start of the first semifinals until we know which two teams made it to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game on Saturday. Stay tuned for inside information, game analysis, exclusive footage and much more. Finally, it's Final Four time! Good luck to all four teams!

### FanZone open for business

It's Semifinals Thursday at the Final Four, which also means the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague FanZone has opened its doors. Located at the spacious Savski Square, along the trendy Belgrade waterfront, the FanZone will once again be the Final Four's starting point for fans of all ages.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to flock over the next three days to the FanZone where everyone will be able to participate in a wide array of activities. Thanks to Euroleague Basketball partners Turkish Airlines, 7DAYS, BKT, Adidas and many more, the visitors will be able to do a variety of things at more than a dozen stands and pavilions set up in the FanZone. The activities range from measuring hang time and testing basketball knowledge to taking photos with the EuroLeague trophy or recording a video with some EuroLeague stars. Fans will also be able to buy merchandise and souvenirs, win prizes, see some of the Euroleague Basketball legends and – of course – shoot hoops.

The non-stop fun will be highlighted with One Team activities and a 3x3 tournament. And for those not lucky enough to have a ticket for the games at the Stark Arena, the FanZone will also be a great place to watch the Final Four games on a jumbo screen.

Make sure not to miss the FanZone!

### Laprovittola’s moustache grows… on the wall

FC Barcelona arrived at Stark Arena as a team for the first time on Thursday evening to practice on the court. When they arrived at the locker-room, the players marveled at the supersized head shots of each player at his locker. Since those headshots were taken at the team’s preseason media day, there is always the possibility that a player or two might look a little different.

Such is the case with Barca guard Nicolas Laprovittola, who over the course of the season has groomed an impressive mustache. When Laprovittola was not in the room, an unnamed teammate took matters into his hands to “improve” Laprovittola’s photo by scribbling on a mustache. Does the light-hearted atmosphere speak well about the mental state of the Barca players? We’ll know more tomorrow!

### French stars meet up

There was a buzz even before Real Madrid met with reporters. Los Blancos filled their locker room and the hallway with players signing balls and meeting dignitaries. In that time, Olympiacos center Moustapha Fall walked by and ran into his countryman and national teammate Vincent Poirier of Real Madrid. The two, who helped Les Bleus to the silver medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, embraced and chatted for a few minutes before Fall headed to the showers and Poirier to the mixed zone where he would meet with reporters before his team’s practice. It was a nice moment between friends who could yet meet in the paint on Sunday.

### Schortsanitis interviews his former team

Olympiacos Piraeus was the next team to pass through the mixed zone and meet the media ahead of its practice at Stark Arena. While there were hundreds of journalists eager to meet the players, one of them stood out above the rest. He is former EuroLeague champion and All-EuroLeague First Team selection Sofoklis Schortsanitis.

"Big Sofo" is in Belgrade on assignment for a Greek television station and was curious to hear what some of his former teammates had to say. Schortsanitis, who played for the Reds from 2005 to 2010, had Georgios Printezis as well as the very young Kostas Papanikolaou and Kostas Sloukas as teammates there and on the Greek national team.

### Efes meets the press before practice

Reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Anadolu Efes Istanbul was the first team to meet the press in the mixed zone before their Wednesday practice at Stark Arena. All the players and Coach Ergin Ataman were available for interviews about the big game against Olympiacos Piraeus tomorrow. Additionally, Elijah Bryant and last season's Final Four MVP Vasilije Micic were interviewed online for all media who could not attend the event.

Semifinal pre-game quotes: Vasilije Micic, Anadolu Efes Istanbul

"Even when people know we are known as an offensive team, in the last four playoffs game against Milan we showed a great part of our defensive ability, which gave us an extra boost," Micic said, perhaps foretelling a key to that semifinal.

Micic singled out Tyler Dorsey as one player who could be especially dangerous. "He is a very talented guy with a lot of points in his hands," he said. "Sasha Vezenkov is also a really unique player, very smart, a very clever guy to read the game."

### MVP Mirotic calls out Calathes in speech

The highlight of the annual EuroLeague awards ceremony is always the naming of the MVP. This season, one of the winner’s teammates saw it coming and worked his way into the speech. After Nikola Mirotic received the MVP trophy from coaching legend Zeljko Obradovic, he grabbed the microphone to share his thoughts.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The MVP did not forget about his teammate <a href="https://twitter.com/Nick_Calathes15?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Nick_Calathes15</a>!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/Uqq9LuyZTd">pic.twitter.com/Uqq9LuyZTd</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1526887142022123520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“A couple of weeks ago, my dear fiend Nick Calathes said in case you win, please remember me in your speech, so I said to him I will,” Mirotic revealed to the smiles of all on hand, including their coach, Sarunas Jasikevicius. Mirotic got a little more serious before adding: “I also want to thank Nick because he makes my life way easier on the court and he’s been an amazing teammate and friend.”

Mirotic’s full comments can be read [here](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/2021-22-turkish-airlines-euroleague-mvp-nikola-mirotic-fc-barcelona/).

### ANGT Finals underway!

If the semifinals and the championship game at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four are the main course, the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals are a tasty appetizer. The ANGT Finals are underway with U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade and U18 PFYM INSEP Paris in action in the first game at Hala Sportova Ranko Zeravica. The tournament will feature 12 games through Friday and the winners of each group will square of on Saturday in the championship game. For more information on the games, check out [www.euroleaguebasketball.net/ngt](http://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/ngt).

### Barcelona’s arrival completes the foursome

We can now turn the page from Final Four anticipation to the count down for the tip-off. With the arrival of FC Barcelona, all the teams have checked in! Interestingly, the first Barca man into the hotel was Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius, who looked like a general leading his troops. Last in was Euroleague Legend Juan Carlos Navarro, who now serves as the director of Barcelona’s basketball section. In between, the roster filled in and a few of them had some interesting thoughts.

The experience was an unusual one for Sertac Sanli, who lifted the crown last season as an Anadolu Efes Istanbul player and saw many old friends as he entered the hotel. "I am really excited! I didn't know how I would react after I see them," he said. “It is going to be fun! I am trying to enjoy being in the Final Four, being in Belgrade. It is going to be different for me.”

One of the few Final Four newcomers on the Barcelona squad is Nigel Hayes-Davies, who had the following to say: “Some of the guys have been here before, some of the guys have won before. For a couple of us, it’s the first one. It's an exciting time. It is an honor and privilege to be here. In basketball, you work throughout your career to win championships, and to be here and have an opportunity to do that is something that you cherish because the championships and winning is not guaranteed in our sport... So all we can focus on is playing Barcelona basketball and if we do that for 40 minutes, we'll see what happens.”

Of course, there is still much more to happen until the first game on Thursday. Wednesday will bring about the awards ceremony, where this season’s MVP will be crowned; the opening press conference; team practices at Stark Arena and more. Check back on these pages for more updates as they happen.

Nick Calathes - FC Barcelona - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Alex Abrines - FC Barcelona - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Sarunas Jasikevicius - FC Barcelona - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Nigel Hayes-Davis - FC Barcelona - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Sertac Sanli - FC Barcelona - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Rokas Jokubaitis - FC Barcelona - Final Four Belgrade 2022

### Los Blancos strut into Belgrade

The award for the best-dressed arrivals goes to Real Madrid, hands down. Los Blancos checked into the Final Four wearing identical sleek black suits and ties with sharp white shirts. Although they could have passed for members of the Men in Black, the Madrid men are not concerned about protecting earth from extraterrestrial life, but rather protecting the paint from their opponents.

"Having experience in this event helps. When you are a first-timer, you have more anxiety in the before the games and experience helps you feel better on the court - hopefully better than in my first time," Real forward Gabriel Deck said. "As a team, we try to face each game in the same way, with the same intensity and character, but this is a Final Four game. It is a do-or-die game and the pressure is on but that goes the same for all four teams in Belgrade. All of them are here with the same goal: making it to the final and lifting the trophy."

"It's really exciting \[to be here\]. We are really enjoying the moment, but we are here to win, so we don't have to enjoy it too much, as the main reason we are here is to compete," Vincent Poirier added. "We feel good, we are doing great. I think we are playing the best basketball of this season. We are confident and we are ready."

Jeffery Taylor - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Pablo Laso - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Guerschon Yabusele - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Alberto Abalde - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Adam Hanga - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Rudy Fernandez - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Vincent Poirier - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022

### The champs roll into town

Half of the participating teams at the 2022 Final Four are checked in with the arrival of defending champion Anadolu Efes Istanbul. The team’s arrival was slightly delayed when the skies opened up and poured down as Efes was landing in Belgrade. Nonetheless, the players and staff were all smiles as they encountered all those waiting for them in the lobby of the headquarters hotel.

Despite the presence of Efes’s star-studded roster, it was an 8-year-old boy who stole the show. Filip, a Partizan NIS Belgrade fan who has quickly adopted Efes as his favorite in the EuroLeague, was decked out in a No. 44 Krunoslav Simon jersey, which he patiently waited and asked Efes players to sign and to pose for photos with him. Soon, all of the assembled media saw Filip and turned their attention to his exploits.

“It is always nice to see kids wearing your jersey because sports is all about that, to see them interested in the sport and this is the best thing about the sport,” Simon said. “I am glad he is an Efes fan. This is a big club. We might not have as many fans as some clubs that have soccer teams, but I think it is good to have all kinds of fans of our club from all over.”

Bryant Dunston, after seeing Filip and some other Efes supporters there to welcome his team, spoke about the return of fans to the Final Four: "It was weird playing the last game of last season with no fans there - winning, celebrating, jumping up and down, and then looking around and there was nobody there... Hopefully, we are going to have that same result but with the fans there."

Adrien Moerman - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Shane Larkin - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Ergin  Ataman - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Krunoslav Simon - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Chris Singleton - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022

### Olympiacos arrival signifies start of Final Four!

The arrival of Olympiacos Piraeus to the headquarters hotel in Belgrade symbolized the lighting of the torch for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. The other three teams will join them shortly, but the Reds had the honor of opening the proceedings. Select members of the media were allowed to pepper players with questions about their arrival.

One Olympiacos player looked a bit trimmer than before. Big man Livio Jean-Charles trimmed his beard: "Yes! It was just a choice of haircut, but definitely, I shaved the beard!" he said. "I am excited, for sure. There are a lot of talented players who have never made it to the Final Four in their careers, so I am pretty glad to be here."

Kostas Papanikolaou, who is among the Reds’ most-experienced players, added: “It does not matter how many \[Final Fours\] you had before, each one coming is new, it's beautiful and you want to take the best out of it… The most important thing that I said to the guys is to enjoy it. You never know if you are going to be able to have an experience like this in your life.”

Hassan Martin and Shaquielle McKissic - Olympiacos Piraeus - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Thomas Walkup - Olympiacos Piraeus - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Kostas Papanikolaou - Olympiacos Piraeus - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Sotirios Oikonomopoulos - Olympiacos Piraeus - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Welcome to the Final Four blog! The EuroLeague staff will be on the ground covering all of the big events in Belgrade and sharing what’s going on behind the scenes all week long.

Final Four live blog: Nikos Zisis: Spanoulis coaching is great for the game

Hassan Martin and Shaquielle McKissic - Olympiacos Piraeus - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Thomas Walkup - Olympiacos Piraeus - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Kostas Papanikolaou - Olympiacos Piraeus - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Sotirios Oikonomopoulos - Olympiacos Piraeus - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Thomas Walkup 2- Olympiacos Piraeus - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Adrien Moerman - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Shane Larkin - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Ergin  Ataman - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Krunoslav Simon - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Shane Larkin 2- Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Chris Singleton - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Jeffery Taylor - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

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

Guerschon Yabusele - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Alberto Abalde - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Adam Hanga - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Rudy Fernandez - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

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

Alex Abrines - FC Barcelona - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Nick Calathes - FC Barcelona - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Sarunas Jasikevicius - FC Barcelona - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Nigel Hayes-Davis - FC Barcelona - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Sertac Sanli - FC Barcelona - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Rokas Jokubaitis - FC Barcelona - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Adrien Moerman - Anadolu Efes Istanbul practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Krunoslav Simon - Anadolu Efes Istanbul practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Ergin Ataman 2- Anadolu Efes Istanbul practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Rodrigue Beaubois 2- Anadolu Efes Istanbul practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Filip Petrusev - Anadolu Efes Istanbul practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Sasha Vezenkov - Olympiacos Piraeus practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Olympiacos Piraeus practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Shaquielle McKissic - Olympiacos Piraeus practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Georgios Bartzokas - Olympiacos Piraeus practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Sofoklis Schortsanitis 2- Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Players FC Barcelona practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Sertac Sanli - FC Barcelona practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Cory Higgins - FC Barcelona practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Kyle Kuric - FC Barcelona practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

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

Jeffery Taylor - Real Madrid practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Fans Olympiacos Piraeus 2- Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Platinum and Ambassadors Game - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Championship Game Press Conference 3- Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Here are some interesting notes about the Final Four third place game between FC Barcelona and Olympiacos Piraeus.

Game Notes, Third place game, Barcelona vs. Olympiacos

· Barcelona has gotten the better of Olympiacos this century, winning 19 of their 30 games

· During the regular season, Barcelona pulled out a 79-78 overtime win in Round 3 as Nick Calathes flirted with a triple-double with 9 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists. In Round 33, Olympiacos beat Barcelona 73-66 in Piraeus behind 20 points from Shaquielle McKissic.

· Olympiacos won its first EuroLeague title by beating Barcelona 73-58 in the 1997 championship game in Rome as Final Four MVP David Rivers scored 26 points. 

· Barcelona defeated Olympiacos in the 2010 EuroLeague championship game in Paris 86-68 thanks to 21 points from Final Four MVP Juan Carlos Navarro.

· Olympiacos forward Georgios Printezis hit the game-winning and series-clinching three-pointer in Game 4 of the 2015 EuroLeague Playoffs against Barcelona. He was also MVP of the Round for Game 2 of that series after posting 22 points, 9 rebounds and a PIR of 34 in a road win.

· Olympiacos coach Georgios Bartzokas was Barcelona's head coach during the 2016-17 season; he led the club to a 12-18 regular-season record. No player from that season remains on the Barcelona roster.

· Olympiacos forward Kostas Papanikolaou played for Barcelona during the 2013-14 season. He helped the team win the Spanish League title.

· Olympiacos forward Sasha Vezenkov spent three seasons with Barcelona, from 2015 to 2018, where he was a teammate of Sergi Martinez and Pierre Oriola.

· Barcelona point guard Nick Calathes and Olympiacos forward Georgios Printezis won a bronze medal at EuroBasket 2009 together on the Greek national team.

· Along with Printezis, Kostas Sloukas, Kostas Papanikolaou and Giannoulis Larentzakis have also been teammates with Calathes on the Greek national team over the years.

· Thomas Walkup has been a teammate of Brandon Davies, Rokas Jokubaitis and Nigel Hayes-Davis at Zalgiris Kaunas. Walkup and Jokubaitis were teammates the last three seasons, while Walkup and Hayes-Davis the last two seasons. Walkup and Davies were teammates during the 2018-19 season.

· At Zalgiris, Walkup played under current Barcelona head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

· Olympiacos guard Thomas Walkup collected a career-high 4 steals playing for Zalgiris Kaunas against Barcelona in December of last season.

· Last season in Barcelona, Hassan Martin made a career-best 8 two-point shots and pulled down a career-highs in rebounds (8) and offensive rebounds (5) in Olympiacos's 88-96 win.

· Olympiacos guard Kostas Sloukas matched his career-high with 11 assists playing for Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul twice against Barcelona. First in March 2019 and again in January of last season.

· In the first of those two 11-assist games, Sloukas shot a career-best 5-for-5 on three-pointers. In the latter of the two games, Sloukas also tied his career-best with 7 rebounds.

· Barcelona forward Nikola Mirotic set his career-high with 5 steals playing for Real Madrid against Olympiacos in Game 1 of the 2014 EuroLeague Playoffs.

· Mirotic pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds, including a career-best 11 defensive boards in a 90-80 home win against Olympiacos in December 2019.

Here are some interesting notes about the Final Four championship game between Real Madrid and Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

Game Notes, Championship game, Madrid vs. Efes

· Real has a 26-13 lead in EuroLeague games against Efes and the teams split home wins this season. 

· Earlier this season, Real beat Efes 82-69 in Madrid in the season opener. In Round 31, Efes rallied to pull out a 93-90 win over Real in Round 31 behind 29 points and 6 assists from Vasilije Micic. He earned co-MVP of the Round honor with PIR 29.

· The 2022 championship game is a rematch of last season's best-of-five EuroLeague Playoffs which Efes won in five games. Efes dominated the first two games of the series in Istanbul, winning 90-63 and 91-68 before Real used big fourth-quarter rallies in Games 3 and 4 to send the series into a deciding game. In Game 5, Efes held on to win 88-83 and proceeded to capture the EuroLeague crown.

· In Game 5 of the playoffs, Chris Singleton posted a career-high in index rating with 38, scoring a career-best 26 points and pulling down 8 rebounds for Efes.

· Last season in their regular-season clash in Madrid in Round 32, Efes raced to an 83-108 victory. In that game, Efes scored 67 second-half points, which is the most points Real has allowed in a single half of a EuroLeague game this century.

· Shane Larkin made history in the 2019-20 season against Real in Madrid by becoming the first player with a streak of four straight MVP of the Round honors. Larkin powered Efes to a 75-80 road win, piling up 32 points along with 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals for a performance index rating of 36.

· With that win in January 2020, Efes snapped a streak of 12 consecutive defeats in the Spanish capital, a run that dated back to January 2005.

· Real Madrid ousted Efes with a 3-1 series win in the 2015 EuroLeague Playoffs. Rudy Fernandez averaged 13.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds in the series.

· Real's single-game record for three-pointers made is 7, which has been done twice against Efes. Alberto Herreros made 7 triples against Efes in April 2002 in Madrid, though Efes won that game 92-109. Real sharpshooter Jaycee Carroll tied the mark by making 7 triples on 8 attempts in a 97-80 victory over Efes in April 2017.

· The Efes single-game record for assists is 15, which Thomas Heurtel set in a game against Los Blancos in April 2015.

· Heurtel played for Efes from 2015 to 2017; he was a teammate of Dogus Balbay and Bryant Dunston during his time there.

· Heurtel was a teammate of Efes forward Adrien Moerman at Barcelona during the 2017-18 season.

· Efes big man Chris Singleton was a teammate of Heurtel’s at FC Barcelona during the 2018-19 season.

· Efes center Tibor Pleiss was a teammate of Heurtel for two seasons at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, from 2012 to 2014. 

· Pleiss was a teammate of Real forward Adam Hanga at Baskonia during the 2013-14 season.

· Hanga was a teammate of Efes guards Larkin and Rodrigue Beaubois at Baskonia during the 2016-17 season.

· Real center Vincent Poirier and Efes guard Beaubois were teammates at Baskonia during the 2017-18 season. 

· Real Madrid forward Anthony Randolph was a teammate of Singleton at Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar during the 2015-16 season. They reached the EuroLeague Final Four together.

· Randolph and Efes guard Krunoslav Simon were teammates at Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar during the 2014-15 season.

· Real guard Fabien Causeur and Efes center Pleiss were teammates at Baskonia for two seasons, from 2012 to 2014.

· Causeur had a career-best performance playing for Brose Bamberg against Efes in December 2016. He scored a career-high 28 points and earned the MVP of the Round award with a personal-best performance index rating of 35.

· Real guard Sergio Llull dished a career-high 12 assists against Efes in April 2015. He also had a career-best 3 steals against Efes in December 2011, and career-high 8 rebounds in January 2019.

· Real big man Vincent Poirier had 16 points, 12 rebounds and career-bests of 5 blocks and a PIR 35 playing for Baskonia in an 81-82 road win at Efes in December 2017. He won his first MVP of the Round honor for his performance.

· Efes forward Moerman posted his career-high PIR of 33 against Real Madrid in December 2018.

· Efes big man Bryant Dunston posted his career-high in points with 21 playing for Olympiacos Piraeus against Real in April 2014. Dunston set a career-high with 4 steals in Game 4 of last season's playoff series against Real.

· Real forward Gabriel Deck scored a career-best 23 points in Round 31 loss against Efes.

· Real guard Alberto Abalde dished a career-high 8 assists playing for Valencia Basket against Efes in February 2018. He set a career-high with 3 steals for Valencia against Efes in October 2019.

· Real Madrid big man Trey Thompkins set a career-high with 3 blocks playing for Nizhny Novgorod against Efes in November 2014.

· Real guard Carlos Alocen posted his career-high in assists with 6 in Game 4 of the playoffs last season.

· Hanga had a career-best 11 rebounds, including a career-high 10 defensive rebounds, playing for FC Barcelona against Efes in April 2019.

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, The Head Coaches

Here is what coaches Pablo Laso of Real Madrid and Ergin Ataman of Anaodlu Efes Istanbul had to say about their semifinal victories and looking ahead to the championship game.

### Pablo Laso, Real

“It’s the final game, it’s the Final Four, and we are happy to be here. There is a lot of work behind this, and I’m expecting a great game tomorrow.

“For sure losing Nigel \[Williams-Goss\] that early in the game was difficult. It didn’t change the game plan that much because I think some other people stepped up to cover his position. But it’s true that losing an important player that quickly always hurts. I think he is out for tomorrow, for sure. The injury is even worse than just a twisted ankle, and we will probably have to make tests when we come back to Madrid and see for how long the injury is. There are no secrets for Ergin \[Ataman\].

“\[An injury\] always affects you. Nigel is a player who was providing us with a lot of consistency. He played the point guard position and set the tone in defense, he was running the offense well, and losing him is really bad luck. When it comes to this stage of the competition, it’s bad luck to get injured before the Final Four, like happened to them, or during the Final Four. It’s a setback, but that’s all, we cannot do anything. We have to make up for that situation somehow, the best we can. In the end, I feel bad for him, because he is the one who got injured, and I’m sure he would love to be with us at this moment.

“Some people were talking to me about the legacy, about tradition, about what Real Madrid means. It’s a historic club, for sure, and, as a coach, I am proud of the fact that history is being written every day. I’m lucky that I can coach great players, but history is what pushes us to improve and be better each day. I think that for the people that are behind us, supporting us, they want to win, for sure, everybody wants, but I think they feel prouder of how the team is capable of working, what the team transmits, and that’s something that makes me proud, and I think it pushes us to do things better. I think that, in that sense, I’m lucky for being in a great club, for being the coach of a great team and for having great players.

“For sure, there are possibilities that \[Thomas Heurtel could be used to make up for Nigel Williams-Goss's absence\].

“I never doubt. I can have problems, like Ergin had, for sure. It’s a long season. I wish everything would go okay, but nothing in life is easy, nothing in life is granted or that easy that everything is going the way you want. We lose games and that’s finished. Is everything bad when you lose games? I don’t think so. Losing games doesn’t change me out of my way. That’s the way I feel. I think that right now I’m in a great position, I’m here. What else could I expect? I've been thinking about this from the beginning of the season. I don’t think about the past. The past is finished. We had problems but, which team didn’t have them? I know everyone is going to say the same thing. Ergin and I spoke behind the scenes a lot of times about this. How couldn’t you be without problems? Injuries, playing 80 games…. Everybody saying Real Madrid is not good, Efes is not good because they are losing… we had problems, for sure, but we are here. Period.”

“The first thing to do in a Final Four is to recover quickly from the effort of yesterday’s game. That’s normal. We will have to see how the team is today, as well as work on switching our minds, as we play against a different team. I see the team in good condition. The only thing I can say against that is related to Nigel’s absence. I see the team is well, but not only now, but throughout the whole season. Like I said before, we went through both good and bad moments, but I think we got here in good shape, both physically and mentally. How do I imagine tomorrow’s game? Honestly speaking, I cannot answer because I don’t know. I always imagine we win; I try to stay positive and believe we are going to win and become European champions. But I have a lot of respect for Efes, they are a great team, with great players, and I give a lot of credit to the fact that we have to do a lot of things well in order to win. If I focus on my team, I also see it in good condition.

“I don’t think that the possession stats are going to be decisive like in the previous games. It’s a different game so nothing to say about what happened yesterday either for them or for us. It's a completely different game. We got to match up a great team so we have to find solutions in our defense, in our basic defense, in some different situations we can match up, but understanding that Nigel won’t play. I think Nigel could be a good factor to play against Efes, but he is not going to be there, so we will have to adjust both offensively and defensively. For me, that’s more important than the number of game possessions.

“If my players don’t understand that they just won one game yesterday and that it’s finished, and that they have to play another one tomorrow, if they don’t understand that, then I’m going to tell them, they are pretty stupid.

“Efes is a great team beyond the individuals. I think we all can agree that Larkin and Micic are both differential players. That said, to stop Micic and Larkin can be very easy. I can put two players on Larkin and I can put two players on Micic and I will stop them. But that’s why they are so great because they will find someone else and that one will kill us. Last year, when they beat us in the fifth game of the playoffs, the best player in my opinion was Singleton. For me, he was a key player and the key three-pointer was made by Simon. And I didn’t speak about Micic or Larkin there. Even if Micic and Larkin could be the best, or among the top in the EuroLeague, I believe that what makes Efes so good is to have them and the attention they claim for them. I’m not thinking of stopping Micic or Larkin. I won’t be happy if we keep them at 0 points and Efes beats us. What I want is to play good team defense. Obviously, we have to understand we need to play good defense on them, but as a team. I don’t think anyone will be able to stop any of them. That’s the way I understand basketball, my philosophy, and I have a lot of respect for them, for their team and their staff. I don’t think they are just Micic and Larkin.

“Honestly, I don’t have a magic recipe for the team. I believe in my team’s work, and I think that the team has to understand some situations, that maybe in September for instance, I’m not telling them: Look, this will be useful later, when we play a final, or for the day we are going to have a very important game. That’s why I always believe in the development of the team. That’s my philosophy as a coach. And that’s why you could see me in games like yesterday’s, I’m pretty calm because I think all the work is done. When it comes to motivation, I always say that these kinds of games are the easiest ones for a coach, because the players are already motivated. I think that all players that are going to play tomorrow are like that. If a player doesn’t feel motivated when facing a EuroLeague final, he wouldn’t probably deserve to play it. What I believe, and I try to emphasize it from the beginning, is that we have to understand what we have to show, what we have to transmit. In the end, winning or losing is just a result. Sometimes it seems that everything is bad when you lose and everything is okay when you win, and I don’t think like that. When we lose, my approach is that we need to keep working and to make them see that this work will pay off, step by step. The most important thing for me is that the players understand where they are.

“I won’t go \[to Paris, to attend the Champions League football game\]. I can’t. I play Manresa on Saturday at 16:30. My kids want to go, but I won’t go. I will be playing in Manresa playing.”

### Ergin Ataman, Efes

“After an amazing season and an amazing semifinal that we played yesterday, it's glory for us to play in the final three years in a row. We will play one more final and we will try to defend our championship.

“Real Madrid is a great team and they have a very experienced head coach in Pablo Laso. We felt that in a great deal of games we played against each other last season and this season. He always makes surprises, secrets, and tactically he always prepares something that is unexpected. They are dominant around the hoop with Tavares, Poirier, Yabusele, Randolph, the strongest players. It will be a game of various strategies. With the creativity of our playmakers, we will try to create a difference. Real Madrid is a team that uses big guys better. We won one, lost one this season. It will be a challenging final game. The semifinals showed how close all the teams are. We want to win and we will win.

“In football, in Turkey, there are a lot of fans of Real Madrid. And one of them is my son. He is a member of the junior Real Madrid fan club. Every year we receive a gift from them. In football, we support Real Madrid, but tomorrow we want to win.

“I have to say that’s the reality of the sport. You will not find any team that will win every time all season. Okay, we had a problem at the beginning of the season; it’s true that I was upset, but more than the results. The play that we played the last three years we played great basketball, but in the beginning of the season we had a lot of problems, we didn’t find our rhythm, I was upset, we talked many times with the players, with the team strongly, but every time I talked also in that period that we are the champion team and finally I believed that when the time arrives, the real time, my players will focus and will start to play to win. That’s the reality of the sport. Now I will meet Pablo. I have great respect for him, good friend. It’s a final game. I am very happy to meet with him after this long season in the final.

“In my philosophy, every game has a different history, every game is different. So I don’t think that yesterday’s game’s possessions will affect tomorrow. Tomorrow for sure both teams will have a diff style actually our style will be the same, but Pablo now said something that we must think that he said maybe Heurtel will play. If Heurtel will not play, so they will play with five bigs. Last game in Istanbul, Yabusele was defending our guards. Last year in the playoffs he used against us matchup zone. So this will be important in our side tactically. But our game will be the same. This is my philosophy. I have especially great perimeter players and I give them full responsibility with insight to our system and we will try to play the same way.

“I think that I have champion players and they enjoy playing in our system, our system gives them the responsibility to play a running game, to play a transition game, and this is very productive for the perimeter players, for guards with this potential. At the end, I decide if I have a timeout to feel who is more hot. Yesterday Shane had an injury in the last quarter, he was out 3-4 minutes, then \[when\] he joined the game, he didn’t join the game with same rhythm that he had in the first half. One minute before he had a problem to beat Sloukas one on one; we tried to play isolation against Sloukas with him. I felt in the timeout that Micic was more ready, had more power in that situation. And we tried to use the pick and pop to attack Vezenkov with him. Honestly, I didn’t tell him to shoot the ball. Every time I tell my players, that they can take the responsibility to read what they need because if I told him 100% to go to the basket and the player stays inside, then he’s not. So he reads the situations, he has this confidence, he missed maybe two or three more easy possessions before in the last 3 minutes. We had five-six easier possession than the last one, but we didn’t find the score in the easy shots, easy penetrations. In the playoffs against Milano, Shane told me in the timeout that he was very hot and he told Micic, they are very good friends. Also during the game, they decide if I am not. Shane told me, ‘I am very hot, give me the ball,’ and Micic gave the ball to him and he finds possessions. So this is a feeling between us and a feeling between the players that they played four years together and they know how to manage to win.

“Elijah Bryant really contributed for us this season, especially last night with Micic and Larkin not able to find their rhythm. And that was critical for our system. Like Laso said, Micic and Larkin are our star players, but we cannot play with only two players. Bryant was actually the hero of the semifinal game. Everyone is talking about the buzzer-beater of Micic, but Elijah was behind the curtains. Tibor Pleiss was the MVP of the last playoff game against Milan. Our big guys work in a system to feed them all the time. But when Dunston fouled out, Pleiss made contributions on defense and we defended well.

“The most special championship game is the one when we become the champions. We will see tomorrow night how things go.”

Ergin Ataman and Pablo Laso - Championship Game Press Conference - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

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

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

The leader of the team that rode atop the standings for most of the season, forward Nikola Mirotic of FC Barcelona has been chosen by fans, media, head coaches and team captains as the 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP.

2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP: Nikola Mirotic, FC Barcelona

Mirotic, 31, was awarded his highest honor yet in a career full of accolades during the 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Awards Ceremony in Belgrade, Serbia, on Wednesday, the eve of the 2022 Final Four. The ceremony was held at Stark Arena, where Barcelona will take on Real Madrid in the second semifinal on Thursday, right after Olympiacos Piraeus and Anadolu Efes Istanbul face off in the other.

Mirotic had another stellar season, ranking first among all EuroLeague players with an average performance index rating of 19.4 and second in scoring with 16.6 points per game. In both categories, he was the league leader on a per-minute basis, with a 32.1 PIR and 24.5 points prorated over 40 minutes. Mirotic shot the ball this season with historic efficiency, becoming just the second player in EuroLeague history to post 65-45-85 shooting percentages; he made 65.6% of his two-point shots, 45.5% of his three-pointers and 87.5% of his free throws.

Mirotic was chosen as the MVP of the Month in both October and December, which gave him a record seven such awards. He was MVP of the Round three times, too, tied for the most by any player this season. His early-season dominance led Barca to a 6-0 start and a season-long place among the top two teams in the standings. His December MVP award included the last five wins in a nine-game winning streak that propelled Barca to the best record of the regular season, 21-7.

Mirotic also was recognized on Wednesday for his second consecutive selection to the All-EuroLeague First Team. He began winning EuroLeague awards more than a decade ago when he was the back-to-back Rising Star Trophy winner in 2010-11 and 2011-12 and was selected to the All-EuroLeague Second Team in the next two seasons. Only two other active players have more All-EuroLeague selections than Mirotic, who spent five seasons in the NBA before returning to Europe to sign with Barca in 2019.

2021-22 MVP of the Season: Nikola Mirotic, FC Barcelona

Mirotic was the first choice of the head coaches, the team captains and the media in this season's MVP voting. Mike James of AS Monaco finished second in the overall voting and Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus third. He is the second Barca player to be celebrated as the full-season MVP, following Juan Carlos Navarro in the 2008-09 season.

“I would like to say that it’s a big pleasure for me to receive this award from our greatest coach Zeljko Obradovic and I would like to thank my team FC Barcelona, the whole organization, coaching staff, all the players, because at the end this is a team job. A couple of weeks ago, my dear friend Nick Calathes said in case you win, please remember me in your speech, so I said to him I will. So I also want to thank Nick because he makes my life way easier on the court and he’s been an amazing teammate and friend. At the end, I want to say a couple of words to a special person here with us, my personal coach, Jadran Vujacic. He was my first coach since I started basketball and he really pushed me very hard to get to this point, all the summers working together hard. He is the person who really believed in me more than I ever believed in myself, so this trophy also goes to him.

“It feels great to have this award in my hands, but I know that the job I came here for is not done. I know why I came. Last season Micic did an incredible job and he demonstrated in the Final Four why he was the MVP. It was well deserved, hopefully, this year I can do my job.”

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Some special messages for the MVP<br><br>📣 <a href="https://twitter.com/AntoGriezmann?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AntoGriezmann</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ud3no8aseg">pic.twitter.com/Ud3no8aseg</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1526870831657324545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Born in Podgorica, Montenegro, Mirotic was a late-comer to basketball, introduced to the sport at age 13 by his grandfather. Within two years, after time spent at the Joker School in his hometown, Mirotic had signed his first contract with Real Madrid, joining its youth program. By 2008, he was on Real's senior roster and made his EuroLeague debut shortly after turning 18 in a road game against Barcelona. He would help Real make its Final Four return after 15 years in 2011. In two more Final Four appearances with Real, in 2013 and 2014, they finished as the runner-up.

Mirotic went on to play in the NBA before joining Barca at age 28, right in the prime of his career, and after the 2019-20 season was discontinued, led his new team last year to its first Final Four in seven years. They lost the championship game to Efes, but Barcelona comes into this weekend in Belgrade with the best overall record of all EuroLeague teams, 24-9, and now with the MVP of the season leading a quest to take one step further to the title.

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2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP: Nikola Mirotic, FC Barcelona

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