SPANULIS: As a player, I was in situations where I was not the favorite…
A man who knows very well how to win trophies in the final tournaments, albeit as a player, is Vasilis Spanulis. Clearly, he attracted the most attention from the media and a lot of questions were addressed to him.
“We are very happy to be in the Final Four. Many did not expect to see us at F4, but I did. This was my dream, that one day we would play in the Final Four and win the trophy. We have achieved the first part of the dream. Everyone in the team believed in the result. I will tell the players that they should stay themselves, play their basketball and enjoy themselves”said the Greek ace in his opening statement.
Peristeri had a very difficult road to the Final Four. After 0-3 at the start of the Top 16 phase, it is even more difficult, but victories over the team of Tenerife, then Hapoel Jerusalem and Karshiaka opened the way to the quarter-finals, in which last year’s champion Bonn was defeated in three matches.
“You have to work from the first day on this mentality. You have to have players with the right character to follow our ideas. That’s why we’ve been thinking a lot since the summer, in order to put together a team with the right mindset. We worked hard to reach the Final Four. It’s not easy, it wasn’t easy, but now we have a chance to make something even bigger”he said Spanulis and added:
“For a team like Peristeri, it was difficult to go to the Top 16, even more difficult to the quarter-finals and very, very difficult to the Final Four… Now everything is so easy”.
The rival in the semi-finals will be two-time winner of the Champions League and regular participant of F4 – Tenerife.
“We have a lot of respect for Tenerife and coach Vidoreta. They have been at F4 for years, it is in their winning identity and team culture. We are new to the Final Four, but many times I have found myself in a situation where I am not the favorite, now it is the same as the coach of Peristeri. Everyone has 40 minutes to show what they know. Tenerife play very good basketball, read everything and have an answer for everything. We can’t pretend to be smart, but go out and play basketball.”
Spanulis has the best memories of Belgrade, there is also a basketball court in this city with his name on it… Of course, for that reason it would be special if he won his first European trophy as a coach here.
“I have good memories of the field, but it is far from me to think about the trophy, when we have to play the semi-final game. The players are the ones who decide the matches, we need to stay positive and have the right character”.
VIDORETA: We are not thinking about the trophy, only about the next 40 minutes
During his two stays in the Tenerife team, Chus Vidoreta left a deep mark and brought two European cups. In addition, the team from the Canary Islands is a regular participant in the Final Four of the Phoebe competition.
“Each Final Four is difficult, but at the same time it’s a big thing to be in the same place year after year. We always try to do a great job. It is true that we are missing some important players and we will miss them, but now we are focused on the next opponent and 40 minutes of basketball where we want to compete and win.”.
Tenerife and Peristeri have already met in the Top 16 stage, so they know each other quite well…
“Every game is different. A lot can change in the space of a month or two. We know our opponent well, as well as they know us. We need to play 40 minutes at maximum, with maximum focus”.
ALONSO: We have done a lot to compete at this level
Coach of Murcia Sito Alonso writes the history of the club. Many believe that under his leadership he has the best Murcia squad in the club’s history, and the results on all meridians are very good so far.
“We fought all year to reach the top four in the competition. Unicaja is a very high-quality opponent, I have great respect for every participant in the Final Four, teams and coaches. Unicaja is a rival that dominates the domestic championship, we will have to make a huge effort in order to win”.
Unicaha is marked as the absolute favourite, but…
“I believe that the details will decide. We played many games against each other and we know each other well, so little things will decide the duel”.
Murcia made major changes last summer to build a competitive squad for high targets.
“Last year it was frustrating to play against Unicaja, we were not at the same level as them. Now we have made a new team, we have worked hard to get better and compete with the best at this level. We are living the dream, we are in the Final Four of the Champions League, close to the playoffs in the ACB League, we just need to continue playing our basketball”.
NAVARRO: People talk, but they don’t know…
Unicaja coach Ybon Navarro knows that this team is marked as the favorite, but that it is not right to talk about how the pressure is in danger of breaking this team again.
“People talk about pressure being our problem, but they don’t know how hard we work and try to move forward, to win. We are aware of what awaits us in the semi-finals, what kind of rival is in front of us. We have to think about things on the field, to respect the rival who has the best team in the club’s history, not to think about the past”.
Unicaja and Murcia know each other very well from the ACB league…
“Maybe coach Sito will try something different, maybe we will, but we certainly know each other well, so we can’t create something new on the tactical level, but the players can do that.”
Murcia made a lot of changes in the lineup this summer, Unicaja kept as many as 11 players from last year’s roster.
“Murcia did make a lot of changes last summer, but they did a great job as the results show.” We didn’t have to change much, we kept our philosophy, we have more experience, we made certain corrections. Both teams (Unicaja and Murcia) are more experienced and better compared to last season”.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – FINAL FOUR
Friday:
18.00: (1.55) Tenerife (14.5) Peristeri (2.70)
21.00: (2.70) Murcia (14.5) Unicaja (1.55)
*** Quotas are subject to change
Tags: Spanulis difficult easy Navarro People dont effort put
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