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

A special edition of The Crossover comes your way on the eve of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game as host Joe Arlauckas holds court to talk about everything happening in Belgrade alongside FC Bayern Munich head coach Andrea Trinchieri, former EuroLeague champion David Rivers and local Belgrade journalist Aleksandra Radivojevic of SportKlub. Check out their take on the fanfare of the Final four on the possible outcomes in Saturday’s big game to decide the trophy between Real Madrid and Anadolu Efes Istanbul!

The Crossover at the Final Four!

Check out some insights from the protagonists of the Championship Game in Belgrade!

Championship Game pre-game quotes: Real Madrid

### Sergio Llull, Real Madrid guard 

"This is what we came here for. I am very happy to be in another final, very proud of the team's work yesterday, and very focused on the game tomorrow. I hope we can repeat here and win the title again. In the end, each game and each Final Four is a whole different story. We play against a very good team and will have to do things really well in order to win."

Championship Game pre-game quotes: Adam Hanga, Real Madrid

### Alberto Abalde, Real Madrid forward 

“I think it will probably be a different game than the semifinal because they are a different team, they have a different structure, but it will be the same in terms of intensity and toughness, and that it’s going to be a hard one till the last second, play by play. Many details can be definitive. I think it is clear that their focus is on players that can generate, like Shane Larkin or Vasilije Micic, but they also have \[Elijah\] Bryant and \[Rodrigue\] Beaubois. We will try to be ourselves, throughout defense, trying to make our physicality prevail. Displaying it from the very beginning can help us stop their creation, so we can build from that. What I ask myself is to give everything. Each game is different, and it may require different things from me, to help here or there, but it will depend on what we speak with Coach Laso, but it’s a matter of being ready to be able to help the team.”

Championship Game pre-game quotes: Walter Tavares, Real Madrid

### Gabriel Deck, Real Madrid forward

"It's clear that we need to stay focused, concentrated for the whole game. We need to be prepared and ready to be able to match a great opponent like Efes, which is a great team with a lot of great players who have been playing together for a long time. We hope to be at our maximum. The spotlight is on players like Micic or Larkin, obviously, but we know these two also need the others' contribution to be able to lead the group, so we cannot avoid paying attention to everyone else.” 

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

Walter Tavares - Real Madrid practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

CHeck out some insights about the protagonists of the Championship Game in Belgrade!

Championship Game pre-game quotes: Anadolu Efes Istanbul

### Shane Larkin, Anadolu Efes Istanbul guard

“It's going to be a battle, for sure. They are an experienced team. They've been here before, they won the EuroLeague here in Serbia, so I am sure they feel great, like a deja vu. They know exactly what it takes to win, we know what it takes to win. I think it is going to be big for us to get the rebounds. They have a lot of tall, big guys in the paint so I don't think we can rely just on our big guys to pull rebounds against Tavares and Poirier and Yabusele. Even their wings crash the glass, Gabriel Deck, Abalde, Adam Hanga. It will take all of us, a team effort to get the rebounds and focus on the defensive side of the ball.”

Championship Game pre-game quotes: Tibor Pleiss, Anadolu Efes Istanbul

### Rodrigue Beaubois, Anadolu Efes Istanbul guard

“It’s the Final Four. It’s a final, so both teams will play very hard because it’s one game and you need to do everything you can to win the trophy. We know Real Madrid is a very experienced team that has been there before. I played against them before so it’s going to be an intense game and we have to be ready for a fight. They are going to play their game, they are going to play big, and use the size they have. We will try to use our quickness, our speed. I think that whoever is able to control the tempo, to control the speed of the game, will have a chance to win. But it’s one game, so probably there are going to be adjustments. It’s one game and that’s one of the difficulties. It’s one game, you have to give everything and have no regrets. The key is to have no regrets at the end. \[What I ask myself is\] to be the best I can be for my team. I hope all my teammates are on the same page and we can push the team to win the title.”

Championship Game pre-game quotes: Chris Singleton, Anadolu Efes Istanbul

### Bryant Dunston, Anadolu Efes Istanbul center 

"It is really exciting - the opportunity to play for the title, one game. It is 40 minutes, you have to give everything you have and at the end of the day, we hope we will have a really good result. Transition defense is definitely going to be one of the keys. We have to slow them down and try to dictate the pace of the game and do the same that we do in the last game, battle them physically and try to keep them away from the paint. It is a final game and it is always going to be physical. We need to make sure we play physically without fouling so much, like we did in the last game - me and Singleton fouled out. We are going to play strong but need to look out for the fouls. On the rebounds, we have to push them \[Tavares and Poirier\] out as much as we can and have all five guys crash the boards."

Bryant Dunston - Anadolu Efes Istanbul practices - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Real Madrid will face each other in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game for the first time, but they have played many meaningful games in the recent past.

Real and Efes's budding rivalry 

Real and Efes faced off in a EuroLeague Playoffs series in 2021 that could not have been more entertaining. Efes had the home-court advantage in the series and hosts Real for Games 1 and 2. Los Blancos were without injured big men Anthony Randolph and Felipe Reyes. Gabriel Deck had left the team at the end of the regular season and Real struggled in both games in Istanbul. Efes thrashed Los Blancos in the opener, 90-63, behind 19 points from Rodrigue Beaubois. Walter Tavares was injured late in that game and did not return until Game 5. In the meantime, Vasilije Micic scored 23 points to lead Efes to a 91-68 rout in Game 2. 

In Game 3, free throws by Micic gave Efes a 64-76 lead with 4 minutes left. It appeared that the series was over, but Los Blancos fought back. Alberto Abalde, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Llull and Trey Thompkins each struck from downtown in a 16-0 run that Usman Garuba closed with a game-sealing put-back. Efes regrouped in Game 3 and led 61-72 with 7 minutes remaining. Real needed another double-digit, fourth-quarter comeback and delivered again. Garuba had 10 of his career-high 24 points in a final 21-8 run which allowed Real to win the game, 82-76, and tie the series. Against all odds, Real had forced Game 5 at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall. 

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.” 

Real solved the matter the best it could in the semifinal with Sergio Llull playing 29:10 minutes and contributing 15 points and 3 assists. Adam Hanga and Alberto Abalde, who are both listed as forwards on the Real roster, contributed minutes and fine plays at the ‘1’ as well. Hanga tied Llull for the team lead with 3 assists and also scored 4 points in 14:19. Abalde scored 7 in 12:44. 

If the team wants to improve its playmaking after dishing just 14 assists – 4.2 below its full season average – in the semifinal, it could call upon one of its two point guards who did not dress on Friday. Veteran Thomas Heurtel has been inactive since early April and teenager Juan Nunez has appeared in only 10 games all season. 

Perhaps the biggest issue for the Real backcourt in the championship game will be on defense against Anadolu Efes Istanbul’s All-EuroLeague guards Shane Larkin and Vasa Micic. Hanga is a former EuroLeague Best Defender and may have the speed and the length to stick with Efes’s stars, but without Williams-Goss, perhaps Llull is the only other player with experience guarding an ace playmaker. 

In theory, Heurtel could help fill that role. When asked on Friday about that possibility, Laso answered briefly that it was possible. 

The direction Laso takes with Williams-Goss’s roster spot and how to defend against Larkin and Micic will surely have a major impact on the championship game.

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

Get ready for Saturday night's main event! It's a clash for all the glory at Belgrade's Stark Arena. Here’s a look at how Real Madrid and Anadolu Efes Istanbul match up.

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.

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<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.

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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