You can choose what Real Madrid call it: the artist of the impossible, the queen of character or the princess of comebacks. You can also use any of these nicknames – all true, after the Blancos once again emerged from a deep hole, this time to beat Barcelona in the EuroLeague semi-finals en route to a title encounter with Olympiacos tomorrow (Sunday).
Recall the playoff series, in which Real came back from 2:0 to 2:3 behind Partizan Belgrade, while in the fifth and regular game they erased an 18-point deficit to qualify for the Final Four.
Yesterday (Friday), with a severely lacking squad - suspensions and injuries - and despite falling behind in the first half, Real beat Barcelona in the Clasico against all expectations and responded accordingly.
"We don't care if they expected us to win, we believed we would, and we want to keep dreaming," coach Chos Mateo said, referring after the game to the preceding assessments. Mario Zugna also commented on his team's character story: "We are Real Madrid. We will always fight and we will always believe."
Mario the Zunia. Those who believe are not afraid, Photo: Reuters
Real appeared in a sorely lacking lineup. Almost its entire front line is absent. Gershon Yabusla, Gabriel Deck, Vincent Poirier and Peter Corneli, leaving Walter Tavares almost alone under the basket and 19-year-old Eli Andier went up five. Despite the significant deficiencies, she was able to get back into the game with a second half in which she limited her opponent to just 24 points.
Real's character comes first and foremost from its trio of veterans: Sergio Rodriguez (37), Sergio Yoy (35) and Rudy Fernandes (38). As with Partisan, yesterday they were responsible for the upheaval, especially Rodriguez.
But let's go back to Tavares, the second big story, literally. The huge chin adjusted its dimensions to its ability. He didn't have a replacement, so he played 33 minutes, scoring 20 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and blocking 4 times.
Walter Tavares. Tiebreaker, photo: AP
And on the losing side - a third consecutive Final Four that Barça, Charas and Mirotic do not take the trophy. This time it was a huge miss given Real's line-up and the advantage in the first half.
Europe's most expensive player, Nikola Mirotic, once again doesn't deliver in Money Time with a black night of three points and 1-of-10 from the field. "I'm sorry to everyone who supported us. I feel very bad and take responsibility," he said.
Mirotic loses another ball. Took on the loss, Photo: AP
For Charras, this game is probably a crossroads, which determined that the coach would end his career at the club at the end of the season. Throughout the season, there was talk that only the Euroleague championship would keep him on the sidelines next season. Sharas also took the fall upon himself: "We didn't play like a team and we were very nervous. That's the coach's responsibility."
Game of differencesExperience and tradition also played a role in the first game. A great turnaround in the second half and an inconceivable third quarter put Olympicos in the final at the expense of Monaco. For the French team, it was the first Final Four. The Greeks have tremendous experience in it. They were in it last season as well.
"They will storm us, and we have to respond," Monaco coach Saša Obradovic said in his half-time interview, leading by 12 points. And he still didn't seem to predict what an onslaught it would be — a stunning third quarter with 2:27 to go for the Greeks turned and ended the game.
Obradovic. Constant fear of Olympiacos, photo: AFP
"The biggest quarter of defense we've ever had," coach Yorgos Bartzukas said, "unbelievable," Shaquille Maxic said, "not real," Alec Petras added. These were the reactions to the third quarter in which Monaco equaled the record for most points per quarter in Euroleague history. Point guard Thomas Walkup, without scoring a single point, was tremendous on both sides of the court in the second half, another big story on the eve of the semifinals.
Now Olympicos, who finished first in the regular season, meet Real Madrid for the third time in the Euroleague final. After the meetings in 2013 and 2015, the score was 1:1. And as if the years had not passed, this time too, those who were at least one of the previous ones will appear in the final: Bartzokas, Kostas Slokas and Kostas Papanikolaou from the Greek side, Vivi, Fernandes and Rodríguez from the Spanish side.
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Bartzokas. A touch of the title, photo: AP
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