And up to here the press conference prior to the Final Four of the Euroleague. There are fewer and fewer hours left until the Euroleague Final Four starts and the action moves to the Zalgirio Arena track. As always, at SPORT you can follow the last hour and everything that happens at the event. See you soon!
They ask Jasikevicius from a Greek media about the differences between a classic between Barça and Madrid and one between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos: “They have to be treated like any other match, it is the media that feed the duel from outside. You have to focus on your routine and what has brought you here. Our idea has to be to continue playing good basketball.”
Musa was asked about sharing a dressing room with players of the experience of Sergio Llull, Sergio Rodríguez or Rudy Fernández: “It is very positive to have these veterans with so many titles and appearances in the Final Four. Of course it helps us younger players, and it’s coming together and helping each other that explains what we’ve achieved so far this season. I hope we can translate that experience onto the court and help us win the game.”
Sasha Vezenkov enters the press conference, to talk about his ‘MVP’: I want to thank everyone who has voted for me, the entire Olympiacos organization for having managed to reach this Final Four. I am so happy to be here. I wish all the teams luck, and may the best team win the Euroleague.”
Mateo: “For me the most important thing is to enjoy the moment. We’ve suffered the ups and downs, but you suffer trying to achieve a goal. We want to win and we’re going to go all the way. You have to take the drama out of any negative situation and get ahead as a team , which I think has greatly strengthened both the regular season and the final Playoff”
Jasikevicius and Mateo are asked if this Final Four could be one of the most important moments of their careers. Saras: “For me the important thing is to be here, we’ve already had the opportunity for three years in a row to qualify for the grand final, but the most important thing is to be together and hopefully things go well for us until the end”
Saras is asked if the fact of having qualified directly and having had more rest than the rest of the classified teams is something positive or negative: “I think the best thing is to finish the Playoff series as soon as possible since It gives us the opportunity to rest and recover from injuries. But now it doesn’t matter, we’re all here, a few minutes away from the title, and the past and the future don’t matter, just live in the moment and do the job well. We come from two matches of high level in the ACB, and I think the best thing that could have happened to us is playing five days before this semi-final against Baskonia”
Jasikevicius talks about his experience in the Euroleague Final Four: “I remember that in the first one in Barcelona I didn’t sleep for a week because of the nerves I had. I understand the players who will play their first or second four-way final, but with experience Now I rest properly, you know what awaits you, the routine these days, even the questions you ask us here, so now it’s easier for me”
They ask Chus Mateo about the virtues of Real Madrid that have allowed them to return to a Final Four: “We did a good job during the regular season, we were at the top of the table and the home field advantage was key in the Playoffs. It was very hard but now there is no turning back, there is no past, there are no injuries, statistics, favourites… We want to win it but we have to enjoy ourselves and the fact of being there is already important. I am very happy with the effort that the team has made and we arrived well, wanting to face the Barça game and wanting to do well”
They ask Satoransky about the teammates who don’t play as much but who contribute to the group: “They are a very important part, they help the chemistry of the group. I think we have been very lucky to have them in the dressing room. We can have confidence in this group and Now it’s time to prove it on the track”
They ask Satoransky how they get to this Final Four: “The team is very good, we feel that we have taken a step forward and in recent weeks there has been an improvement, but it is clear that the most important thing comes on Friday. 40 minutes await us in which we have to be strong, be mentally prepared for bad moments that may come, and how we endure them is the most important thing. It has been good this season to go from less to more and arrive mentally well at this event”
Jasikevicius is asked about the emotions of playing the Final Four in Kaunas. “It’s easy for me, I have all my family here and I haven’t had to pay for the trip, just the tickets (laughs). Everything is very comfortable, I feel at home in the pavilion”
Doncic asks if the mentality they had in the Playoffs can also be maintained in the Final Four. Musa responds: “I think we arrived at this meeting at a great moment. As Luka said, we will try to maintain this good moment against Partizan in the Final Four. We know it won’t be easy but we have to live this moment, go game by game and see what happens
Luka Doncic appears! The Dallas Mavericks player will ask his former team a question
Alex Corretja asks Sarunas Jasikevicius about how to control emotion in difficult moments of the match: “It’s something that’s hard to control, it’s okay to be nervous, make mistakes at some point. We have to calm down, play our game and be together and find the balance between suffering and enjoying on the court. But I like that there is pressure in our team, it makes my players bring out the best of themselves, and hopefully we can do it well”
Mike James is asked about taking Monaco to a Final Four for the first time: “It reminds me of my first time in the final four. It’s a good moment that we must enjoy and we will try to get victories”
“We are very, very proud of you, but not only we recognize the great season you have had,” his family tells him. At this moment, Dejan Bodiroga enters with the award for best player of the season. So it’s official Sasha Vezenkov is the ‘MVP’ of the Euroleague 2022-2023
In the stands of the event is the family of the former Barça player. There is no doubt, the award ceremony for the best player of the season is coming for the Olymmpiacos star
Sasha Vezenkov appears at the event! It seems that they are ready to give him the ‘MVP’ of the season
They ask Chus Mateo about which player has the most winning mentality in the team: “Not only one person has the winning mentality. It is the spirit of the club, of the team. It has cost us a lot to get here, we have never given up and it has It’s been nice to see how the team survived to get here. This mentality has been in place at the club for many years.”
They ask Satoransky how it feels to play a Final Four: “It’s going to be the first and it’s incredible to be here, It is a dream come true that I had since 2006, since it was played in my native Prague. This season has been fun, but it’s a big challenge to be here. We know that all of European basketball will not be watching.”
The protagonists of this press conference will be Georgios Bartzokas and Kostas Papanikolaou (Olympiacos), Sasa Obradovic and Mike James (Monaco), Sarunas Jasikevicius and Tomas Satoransky (FC Barcelona) and Real Madrid Chus Mateo and Dzanan Musa (Real Madrid)
The appearance begins! The act is presented by Joe Arlauckas, former Real Madrid player and a regular image of the Euroleague in this type of event
Everything is ready for the press conference prior to the Basketball Final Four to begin!
As for the day of Sunday 21, at 4:00 p.m. (CET) the match for third and fourth place will be played, and the grand final is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (CET)
THE SCHEDULES OF THE FINAL FOUR
Before starting with the appearance, we do a quick review of the schedules of this Final Four. The semifinal between Olympiacos and Monaco will be played this Friday, May 19 at 5:00 p.m. (CET), while the classic that Barça and Real Madrid will play will start three hours later, that is, at 8:00 p.m. (CET).
WE STARTED!
Good morning and welcome to live! In a few minutes, the press conference prior to the Euroleague Final Four will begin, in which the coaches of the four teams and one player from each squad will speak. On behalf of FC Barcelona, together with Sarunas Jasikevicius, Tomas Satoransky will also speak