On Sunday, Anadolu Efes will hand over the crown to a new Euroleague champion. After remarkable years, and two consecutive wins in the last two years, her coach Ergin Othman will watch the event on television: "It's frustrating, I'm sorry about it, but this is sport and this is basketball. There is no guarantee that every season will succeed."
In an interview from Istanbul, the coach, who next season will move on to coach Panathinaikos, analyzes the Final Four, which will get underway tonight (Friday) in Kaunas. As usual, he provides some surprising statements.
Are the four groups that have achieved this status rightly there?
"Seven teams could have made it to the Final Four. Apart from the Barcelona-Zalgiris series, everyone else came to a fifth game, and only small things determined who would be the winner.
"Take Fenerbahce, for example. If it wasn't for Kostas Slokas' basket at the buzzer in Game 3, they would have passed Olympiacos. Take Partizan Belgrade - if not for the incident and suspensions in Game 2, they would have passed Real Madrid. However, I have to pay tribute to Real's veterans – Rudy Fernandes, Sergio Rodríguez and Sergio Yoy – who proved in the fifth game that it is not age that matters, but heart."
Sergio Yui. "Age matters, but the heart,"
"This time it's his"
This is where the European champions coach comes to his surprise bet on the first semi-final: "Monaco will go to the final at the expense of Olympiacos." The Greek team, as a reminder, won first place in the regular season.
Othman explains: "Olympiacos is not at its peak. You saw in the series with Fenerbahce that Sasha Vozenkov did not perform as well as he showed this season. The pressure is on Olympiacos, who also lost in the semi-finals last season. Monaco is a talented team, it comes more relaxed. That's why I say the odds are 60% for Monaco, 40% for Olympiacos."
On paper, the second semi-final is supposed to be an open game, but the coach of the outgoing Euroleague champions is adamant: "80% for Barcelona, 20% for Real Madrid. Barcelona is the team that arrives in the best condition, and that is best prepared for the Final Four. Real arrive without two key players in their line-up - Gershon Yabusla (suspended) and Gabriel Dack (injured)."
And what will happen in the final?
"I'm going with Barcelona. It seems that she is in the best condition. She has a very strong defense, and the experience and ability of Nikola Mirotic. I think coach Charonas Jaskovicius deserves to be Euroleague champion. In previous years he was close, and this time I think it will be his."
Charas. "Deserves to be Euroleague champion", photo: EPA
The miss of the yellows
Othman led Anadolu for a tremendous period. Euroleague finals, two wins and first place in the discontinued COVID-19 season. This season it didn't work: "Half a season we played without Shane Larkin. Then Vasilije Micic was injured. All season we played maybe four or five games in a full lineup. Beyond that, something about the strong mentality we had was missing this season. We weren't as hungry as in previous years."
Othman and Larkin in the past. A bad season for Euroleague champion Anadolu Efes, Photo: AP
What do you think of Maccabi Tel Aviv's season?
"Maccabi reminds me of us. We have the Larkin-Micic duo, they have the Baldwin-Brown duo. We were very successful with this combination, and Maccabi had an excellent season. It shows you the importance of guards in modern basketball.
"After a bad start, coach Oded Ketch, who had a great season, found the way and the method, and they were close. The big miss, of course, was losing the third game of the series with Monaco.
"I guess it's psychological, and they thought that if they won away it would mean it would happen at home as well, but as I said - a very good season for Maccabi Tel Aviv."
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Monaco beats Maccabi Tel Aviv at the Arena. "Despite everything, a good season for the Yellows," Photo: Alan Shaver
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