1. Nine souls, nine consecutive points, one Chacho
Sergio Rodríguez will celebrate his 37th birthday next month. It's doubtful anyone would bother lifting him up 38 times on a chair, because after all, the child is already grown, but El Chacho is worth at least nine sieves. Not only because it will symbolize the number of souls he and Real Madrid have, and not only to symbolize the number of appearances he has made in the Final Four (plus one for next year), but mainly because of the transformation he brought about with his own hands and beard in the semi-final against Barcelona.
Nine straight points, from a 58-58 tie to a 60-67 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Rodriguez scored for the Blancos at the most critical moment. It started with an unsportsmanlike foul he squeezed from Niko to Provitola, continued with another basket, and another basket, and a three, and in less than a minute and a half the blow was delivered from which Nikola Mirotic and his teammates could no longer recover.
It wasn't random or random. Less than two weeks ago, in the final 11 minutes of the fifth and decisive game against Partizan Belgrade, Rodríguez fired 16 of his 19 points to bring Real back from 18 points behind to win that was worth a ticket to the Final Four.
Tonight (Sunday, 20:00) Real will meet Olympiacos in the Euroleague final, for the third time in the last decade. It's amazing to think that in 2013, her top three players were Rodríguez, Sergio Yoy and Rudy Fernández, who will be important and critical for her this time as well. So the three tenors shared 52 points, but lost; Now, with no fewer than 109 years of life together, they seem more confident than ever.
Even if the route was curved, broken and twisted, it is impossible to take from Real what belongs to her. Sergio Rodríguez and Rudy Fernández (Photo by Getty Images, Nikola Krstic/MB Media)
2. Pass Spropoulos, compare to Obradovic?
You can argue about the way that got Real to this final. The clutch basket clip compiled in honor of Yui's retirement will one day be long, lengthy and varied, but that ugly foul on Kevin Panter — which led to the mass brawl and outrageous punishment in Game 2 against Partizan — will also have to be included in the highlights. In the most unpretty way possible, this blow changed the entire season.
Even if the route was curved, broken and twisted, it is impossible to take from Real what belongs to her. What is hers is hers, as the poet says. The two victories at the Belgrade volcano, the impressive comeback in the fifth encounter, and the tactical knockout of the favourite Barca (as usual) and the loser (even more so as usual) should not be taken for granted.
It's amazing (1), because while the best point guards in Europe are scattered between Piraeus, Belgrade, Tel Aviv, Monaco and Istanbul, the Blancos are once again reaching peak status despite a big and acute problem in the most important position. Two and a half years have passed since Facundo Campasso's traumatic departure, and the continent's richest and most decorated club still misses him and struggles to land a worthy replacement. Huey hasn't gotten younger over the years, Rodriguez has gone back into retirement, and Nigel Williams Goss is a great player – but not dominant enough on this roster; Still, they are in the final and others are not.
And who was the outstanding one? Hint: not printasis. Kostas Papanikolaou celebrates winning with Olympiacos in 2012, when he was just 21 years old (Photo: official website, Action Images)
It's amazing (2), because Real are lining up for the most important title of all under the most maligned coach. For years it has been claimed that Pablo Lasso is a genius at running the locker room and calming the egos of his stars, but the real mastermind behind the basketball displayed in Madrid was Chos Matteo. The transition from the assistant slot to the front of the stage was difficult and unnatural for him; The team relies mainly on its talent, and is perceived as the least trained of the top companies in the factory. Reports of his planned dismissal were published months ago, throughout Europe there is talk freely about the candidates to replace him in the summer (Sergio Scariolo, Sirisli?! why?), and in the meantime the man is reaching the finals of his rookie season in the Euroleague. He is the first to do so since Giannis Sfairopoulos, eight years ago. The first to win the trophy in his debut season was one named Željko Obradović 31 years ago.
And that's amazing (3), because this column is already 521 words long, and can be shrunk down to just six: Walter Samuel Eddie Tavares de Veiga. In the front row of the Žalgirio Arena sat Arvydas Sabonis the other day, watching his successor in action up close. Since the retirement of the legendary Lithuanian, there has not been a center who has influenced the game more than Tavares. His 20 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks (all recorded in the final 2:17 minutes) and 39 in the semifinals are monstrous and amazing stats, and yet they don't even begin to tell the story of this gentle giant, with no one behind him, and in front and on his sides - simply because you can't shoot a basket on him.
If Real celebrate their 11th European Cup win tonight, it will be mainly because the title goes to Tavares, the creative glory of humanity today. What a player, what a giant, what a huge player.
Want to harvest the fruits before they are sold to the highest bidder. Yorgos Bartzukas with Sasha Vezenkov (Photo: Reuters)
3. Olympiacos facing dispersal?
Tavares, Rodriguez, Fernández and the rest of the S-finishes in the Blancos have only one problem: they will face the truly worthy and justified champion. Or to put it more directly - the best team in Europe.
When Kostas Papanikolaou walks among Real's veterans, he will feel like a child. Still, this summer he will only celebrate his 33rd birthday. But he made his Euroleague debut 14 years ago, and he was there when the Piraeus Reds celebrated two consecutive cup wins. The dramatic final from 2012 is best remembered for Yorgos Printzis' guava victory against CSKA Moscow, but "Pap" (at the age of 21) was the real outstanding player and came off the court that evening as the leading scorer with 18 points.
In a team that stars Sasha Vezenkov, Kostas Slokas, Thomas Walkup, Mustafa Pal and, somewhere, Isaiah Kannan, it's not a given that the most effective player in Money Time is Papanikolaou. In the semi-finals, when nothing worked against Monaco, he was the only one who functioned and also finished the evening with the highest score in the group (21); Just as he did in the fifth game of the playoff series against Fenerbahce (23).
The Greeks will try to put an end to the curse of first place in the Euroleague tonight; The six teams that finished at the top of the table, since the transition to the league system, have failed to lift the trophy. Beyond the obvious desire to win, they have a special reason to strive to win tonight.
MVP Vezenkov is already pretty packed on his way to Sacramento, Slokas' future is far from closed and assured, and it seems that the Hall of Peace and Brotherhood is facing a challenging and difficult summer. Just before this coordinated, synchronized and orchestrated group may disperse, it wants to become a dynasty.
- sport
- basketball
- Euroleague and European basketball
Tags
- Real Madrid in basketball
- Olympiacos basketball