The Ottoman Empire

Argin Atman joined Gershon and Oberdovich's club, and was the first coach to bring the star-studded perception of Europe to the NBA.

Tibor Place will no longer be laughed at, Vasilya Micic has returned home to close a vicious circle, and the truth is that the Anadolu Zero dynasty simply deserves more than one casual win

Ahrela Weisberg, Belgrade

22/05/2022

Sunday, May 22, 2022, 9:30 p.m.

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1

Only three coaches have managed to win two consecutive European Cups in the last 30 years.

One is called Zeljko Oberdovic, and he did so in 1994 and 1995 with Badalona and Real Madrid.

The other's name is Pini Gershon, the dynasty architect of Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2004 and 2005.

And yesterday (Saturday), for the first time in 17 seasons, another member joined the small club: Argin Atman, with two Anadolu Zero wins in 2021 and 2022, is the only one to have made a back-to-back in the demanding league system, overcoming 17 direct rivals.

Or actually 14, thanks to Vladimir Putin.

More than three years ago, on the eve of his first career victory over the Yellows at Yad Eliyahu, I met for an interview with the head of the Ottoman Empire.

He was laughed at then, because a season earlier he had finished with zero in last place, and that did not stop him from announcing that "we will win the cup".

More than three years have passed, and the man does not stop shutting his mouth.

He managed to lose in one final, succumb to the shutdown of world sports by the eruption of the corona, and not win one trophy - but two.

Atman - actually he - became the first European coach to adopt the NBA method, and built the team system around the stars on the field.

Anadolu has two faces, on the one hand Vasily Mitchic and exactly the same side Shane Larkin, and all the other players have been defined as limited but precise roles to bring this mix to maximum realization.

On a continent where there are real stars only in the logo - and on the lines - the adaptation made by the Turk is a breakthrough, and he passed on his way to the podium the control addicts who might now stop for a moment and try to emulate him.

More on Walla!

Argin Atman: "I will continue to tell the truth, even if they hate me for it"

To the full article

The memories from home were not always good, but now everything has turned upside down.

Vasilya Mitzic in good company with Kokoch, Bodiroga and Spanoulis (Photo: Official Website, Anadolu Efes)

Anadolu Zero is not a typical champion.

After her phenomenal shows that ended in nothing in 2020, she has dealt with mental crises, injury blows and a very cohesive bunch of actors - but one who sometimes looks too old and even a little seven.

Last season she stood on a negative balance at the end of the first round, and flew to the cup with an amazing comeback that featured quality basketball;

She started the current season at 4-0, failed to produce the streak needed to recover, and even needed odd calculations and one deliberate loss to arrange for herself the placement she wanted in the deciding stages.

And most surprisingly - in this trophy she won through the defense.

Truth be told: for Yogoplasty Split had Tony Kokoch and Dino Radja;

Maccabi Tel Aviv had Ronas Jasikevicius and Anthony Parker;

Olympiacos had Vasilis Spanoulis and Yorgos Printzis.

Larkin and Mitzic are among those duos who are worth far more than one casual win in the Euroleague, who might be the ones to say it was a coincidence.

Zero deserves this rehearsal, and she also deserves to celebrate with 20,000 spectators in the stands (as opposed to the empty hall where she played last year in Cologne).

After the injustice caused by the global epidemic, order was restored, and sporting justice was done.

More on Walla!

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Unlike Gershon and Oberdovich, he has won two trophies in the demanding league system.

Argin Atman (Photo: Niv Aharonson)

2

"I sat down in the summer with the management and the club president, and we decided to build a different team, which will rely on experienced players with a positive character, and less on young people. We brought in those who did not have a great season last year," Atman told me in 2019. Adrian Muarma and Tibor Place.

Yes, Place.

The clumsy German shoelace, which over the years has become quite slanderous and ridiculous, because despite its height (2.21 m), it is considered a rather soft and elbow-free player, who even tends to run away from the paint area.

He failed in the NBA and Barcelona, ​​nor did he really manage to make a mark in Valencia and Basconia, and Anadolu reunited with Atman after collaborating with him at Glatsray and was not even in the dial area of ​​the playoffs.

So at 32, Place has finally found the right place for him.

True, last year he was already crowned European Champion, but in the deciding stages he was mainly concerned with side-by-side watching Bryant Danson and Sertak Chanley, and during the seven playoffs and the Final Four he accumulated only 26 minutes in total.

Less than those he had yesterday one evening.

In the game that secured the ticket to Belgrade, three weeks ago, the chin set seasonal records of 25 points and an index of 37 against Olympia Milan.

And in the semi-final against Olympiacos he scored only eight, but when he entered the decisive minutes (because of Dunston's fifth offense) he collected the crumbs and performed the right actions on defense and attack.

And last night he reached the pinnacle of his status and fame, at just the right moment.

Place arrived this evening on absorption alert, like any chin waiting for color clashes with Eddie Tavares and Vincent Poirier.

And he was there at just the right moments to make history: 40:31 behind in the third quarter, when Real threatened to escape a double-digit gap, which in this low score could have turned into a matte move, he stopped the drift.

Here are two points from the penalty spot, followed by a three from Momentum, and in the final quarter his explosion came with four straight baskets, and 10 of the last 13 points of zero on the way to victory and victory.

So he's still laced, and still clumsy, and the truth is he has a good reason to run away from the color - because his shooting is so soft and classic - and you can no longer underestimate the place or laugh at it.

The man has won two consecutive Euroleague titles, the second of which he has signed, perhaps more than anyone else.

Why not run away from the paint, when he has such a soft hand?

The hero of the victory, Tibor Place, removes all question marks (Photo: Reuters)

3

In fact, almost everyone else.

The Zero Pilsner beer factory purchased advertising space on the billboard located in front of the Stark Arena, and through it promoted the appearance of the basketball team he owns.

Alongside the bottles, Turkish copywriters boasted an unsurprising presenter - Mitchic.

And this morning, at each of the check-in booths of Turkish Airlines at Belgrade Airport, pictures of the Serbian star were pasted alongside the holy trinity of letters - MVP.

A foreign athlete winning a European title, especially when he returns to his homeland, is always a special occasion.

But in the case of Vasa - much more.

His memories of his career in Serbia are riddled with obstacles and bumps.

At 17, while playing Mega Vizura, he tore the cruciate ligament in his knee and was sidelined for an entire season;

Two years later, after being promoted along with Boban Marianovic to the Adriatic League, he broke his arm.

His debut season abroad, with Bayern Munich, was disrupted due to another tear in the ligaments, this time

at the elbow, and then he was loaned to the Red Star in Belgrade and did not return to Bavaria;

The final came again, the presenter decided to take care of everything himself, he shot the dramatic three-pointer victory against Olympiacos, and was the leading scorer in the drama against Real. In the second half, Anadolu scored 29 points; One single basket for two

points.Many did not like the Euroleague decision to keep Mitchell out of the top five this season, so he scooped the Final Four MVP title for the second time in a row.Only three legends have done so before him: Kokoch, Diane Bodiruga and Vasilis Spanoulis.

It was hard not to identify with the frozen look of Sergio Yui, who stared at the trophy until he was called upon to receive the unnecessary award for deputy (Photo: Reuters)

4

It was the closest Final Four in history.

The three decisive games in it (the final and the two semi-finals) ended with a cumulative gap of seven points, as in 2012, and for the first time none of them ended by more than three points.

And when the penny is missing a pound, athletic cruelty is celebrated.

It was hard not to sympathize with the frozen gaze of Sergio Yui, who stared for long minutes at the trophy, until he was called to receive on behalf of Real the unnecessary prize for the runner-up;

Needless for athletes who do not want it at all and are not proud of it, because they were educated to settle for only first place.

The Blancos, in direct continuation of their heroic journey of the past month and a half, have done everything right.

They complicated the high pair of zeros with five cumulative fouls in the first half;

They stopped Larkin at zero points in the second half;

They forced on their fantasy rival an excavation pace and the result of a handball game;

Since 1998 not so few points have been enough to win the European Cup final;

Since the current dynasty of the Turks was built, four years ago, it has not scored so little on a given evening;

Tavares blocked just one ball, but changed dozens of shots and actually prevented his presence from so many penetrations;

And on the other side, he walked over the rings and almost reached a double-double in one quarter.

Still, that was not enough.

Anadolu's last pose lasted 44 seconds.

During a somewhat puzzling course, the Spaniards did not commit an offense during the decisive course, with a gap of only four seconds between the game clock and the shot clock.

Larkin missed, but by the time someone took over the rebound, the train had already left the station.

And this station is Istanbul.

So it is true that Real is the most glorious, decorated and successful club in Europe.

But this season he is experiencing a Cinderella story.

And what to do that such exciting Cinderella stories, starring Lasso, Hugh and Tavares, have a tendency to end in a tear-jerking scene, with second place.

Did not score a point in the final, but made history.

Elijah Bryant (Photo: GettyImages)

5

Poetic justice has ruled that the phantom Dunston, who will be 36 next week, will be the captain to wave this trophy.

The unfinished chin was brought to Europe in 2010 by Sharon Drucker in Aris Thessaloniki, and continued from there to Dan Shamir in Bnei Hasharon and Hapoel Holon.

Soon, it is said, he will consider whether to retire at the end of the season or give another push to his career.

Zero will give him the opportunity to decide, and wait for what comes out of his mouth.

If he only wanted to - she would extend his contract.

Another Israeli ex, Elijah Bryant, did not score a point in the final, but stuck a record piece - when he became the second all-time player to win the NBA and Euroleague championships in a year (after Jim Brewer in 1982 and 1983).

So it may be that the glorious dynasty from Istanbul has finished its historic role.

Arkin may no longer have a zero-zero number, and perhaps Mitchic will choose a different destination, and who knows what the future holds for others.

If Dunston decides to retire, it's doubtful anyone will miss Atman like him.

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• Argin Atman

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