Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game Press Conference
The press conference before the final
With the lineup set for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game, the head coaches and a leading player for each of the two finalists, Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul and Real Madrid, met Saturday to discuss the clash for the title. The press conference at Stark Arena showed the global attention that the EuroLeague Final Four receives with questions asked in an assortment of languages to Coach Zeljko Obradovic and guard Kostas Sloukas of Fenerbahce and Coach Pablo Laso and forward Rudy Fernandez of Madrid. Here is a sample of their answers.
Zeljko Obradovic, Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul head coach
"Obviously I am very happy to be in the final game for the third consecutive year. This means that we have some strategy that gives results, talking about the level of the club, the level of the team. I believe that we have this skill that is necessary if you want to have the result that we have had until now. Last summer, after we took the first championship in history in Istanbul, we discussed what would be the next step to have a completive team to try again to come to the Final Four. I am sure that all of you remember that we lost three very important Bogdan Bogdanovic, Ekpe Udoh and Pero Antic. But we signed some new players who have showed character, showed everything that is necessary to be in this moment here and to have in front of us another big final. We play against a team that is the history of basketball in Europe, Real Madrid with nine titles. It is probably the moment to congratulate Pablo and his players for everything they did this season with all the problems they had, with all the injured players, they found always the way to play good basketball and finally they are here. I believe they serve and I hope it will be a final that all the fans enjoy very much."
"I believe this is an excellent format that we have right now, if you understand the impact that the Final Four has. It is something that all the people are over here, all of Europe is here, all the media is here, everybody talks about this. You have a place like Belgrade today that everywhere you go you feel that people talk about basketball. Every year is the same. I believe it is a very correct way and I believe that EuroLeague organization is every year better and better. This way that we have now to play everybody against everybody is something special. After that, you play best of five games that give the opportunity for the best teams to go to the Final Four. And Final Four, for me, is really something special."
"I did not sleep last night. It's hard to say. [Madrid is] a complete team, with lots of quality. If you focus on one or two things, you're done. You have to prepare well mentally for what Madrid is. There are some new things in their game, but they stay on their path since Pablo arrived. They know how they want to play. I will try to plan and respond to all those details. If we do that, we'll have the answer at about 10 pm tomorrow."
Kostas Sloukas, Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul guard
"I am happy and proud of my team, because we worked really good all this year and we deserve to play one more final. The last three years Fenerbahce is playing finals, so this means that finally, we are among the best teams in Europe. This was the dream of the Fener family. Tomorrow we play against a really good team with a full roster. It will be a very good and difficult game for us. I hope that we achieve taking the trophy."
"I don't think about my sixth final or fifth. This is for journalists and [fans]. My job is to go straight for the target we set at the beginning of the season. I am very happy that we are here and talking about the final game. You asked me about [being] a leader or not, I think the leader is the coach and their place is to try to make what he planned for the game. I have said many times that if we follow the plan that he makes, we will win the game. if not, we will lose. There is no matter about leaders. The leader is the coach and the plan that he makes before the game and from the beginning of the season."
"You speak about [Luka] being 18 years old and I think about myself how I was at 18. It is a miracle how he is playing. I think he is a quality player and he is one of the best in Europe, but Real, for me, has the best roster in the EuroLeague if they have everybody healthy and now they are healthy. It is very dangerous as a team. They have quality on offense; good, smart, experienced offensive players. So the danger is the whole team and the matter is how to stop them, not only one player. I hope tomorrow we make it and stop 12 players."
Pablo Laso, Real Madrid head coach
"We are playing the championship final in the EuroLeague. Happy to be here. Happy with the year we're having. Very proud of my players and the way they have competed since the first game. And right now we are facing a great team that did the job as well as us. There were the 16 teams, the best teams in Europe playing against each other. Tomorrow is Fenerbahce against Real Madrid. For me, it's a pleasure to be here, very proud of my players and expecting the final to start."
"It is difficult to say just one thing [that I learned from Zeljko when I played for him]. For me, it was day-by-day learning. Learning for me of things that maybe were stupid, but at the end, they worked. Since the first day that I arrived to Real Madrid, the two years was day-by-day learning. I think we had a great team, we were not very lucky at that time that Zeljko didn’t stay more time because I think that we could have created a team for years, but at that moment – let’s put it this way, it didn't work out. But, for me as a player, it was great having Zeljko as a coach. When you look [back] at the time, many years after, for sure many things that I have learned as a player with Zeljko I used as a coach. I always remember the game we won in the [Spanish Cup], with the game almost finished, I was playing very good. We got the game, two minutes to go, 11 points up. It was my time to have the ball control. He sat me down and said, 'Pablo, this is finished. Very good, you did your job. Leave.' I wanted to kill him! But, he was right. I was finished. 'Pablo, you did your job. Finished.' That was one of them. I could tell you a thousand stories, but I think in my career as a player, as a coach, I am very proud to have the opportunity to spend time with Zeljko."
"I guess you mean that we play with heart not only one game and that is achieved with time and hard work, good nights and bad nights. You either have the heart or you don't. I think my players have it. That's why I was that proud last night and said what I said. No team that reaches this level lacks heart or they would not be here. I think my team had it and showed it over time. I am proud of my players. Many times we are valued just because of results, which is normal on the other hand in sports, but as a coach, I value other things and I am proud of my guys."
Rudy Fernandez, Real Madrid forward
"It is a great opportunity to be in another final. We had a tough regular season with all our injuries, but we are here. It's a great opportunity to try to win against one of the best teams in Europe. It is great to see my team play like we did yesterday. It was amazing. And we are ready to play tomorrow."
"I think every final is a motivation, not any more against Fenerbahce specifically. Of course, of the last Final Fours we played, we weren't happy with the game against them nor the result. These situations are opportunities and we have to take them. We have the team healthy and after those difficulties, we are living in a dream being here. We have to enjoy it and not obsess over it being revenge. We have to enjoy being here and playing against such a great team in a great atmosphere. We are a team and we showed that yesterday."
"As we said, it was a tough season. We are saying the same things. We saw important players with tough injuries. That made us all see that we had to go in the same direction. We also saw our teammates try to recover fast. That motivated us to reach our goals even more while they were not with us. The coaching staff also managed the situation well and it all worked out. We reached the EuroLeague final and it all has to be positive. Pablo told us in the locker room 'It was tough guys, but let's enjoy it now', and that's how it has to be. Tomorrow we have a great opponent in front of us, but we have to enjoy it because we don't know if basketball will give us this chance again."
Zeljko Obradovic, Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul head coach
"Obviously I am very happy to be in the final game for the third consecutive year. This means that we have some strategy that gives results, talking about the level of the club, the level of the team. I believe that we have this skill that is necessary if you want to have the result that we have had until now. Last summer, after we took the first championship in history in Istanbul, we discussed what would be the next step to have a completive team to try again to come to the Final Four. I am sure that all of you remember that we lost three very important Bogdan Bogdanovic, Ekpe Udoh and Pero Antic. But we signed some new players who have showed character, showed everything that is necessary to be in this moment here and to have in front of us another big final. We play against a team that is the history of basketball in Europe, Real Madrid with nine titles. It is probably the moment to congratulate Pablo and his players for everything they did this season with all the problems they had, with all the injured players, they found always the way to play good basketball and finally they are here. I believe they serve and I hope it will be a final that all the fans enjoy very much."
"I believe this is an excellent format that we have right now, if you understand the impact that the Final Four has. It is something that all the people are over here, all of Europe is here, all the media is here, everybody talks about this. You have a place like Belgrade today that everywhere you go you feel that people talk about basketball. Every year is the same. I believe it is a very correct way and I believe that EuroLeague organization is every year better and better. This way that we have now to play everybody against everybody is something special. After that, you play best of five games that give the opportunity for the best teams to go to the Final Four. And Final Four, for me, is really something special."
"I did not sleep last night. It's hard to say. [Madrid is] a complete team, with lots of quality. If you focus on one or two things, you're done. You have to prepare well mentally for what Madrid is. There are some new things in their game, but they stay on their path since Pablo arrived. They know how they want to play. I will try to plan and respond to all those details. If we do that, we'll have the answer at about 10 pm tomorrow."
Kostas Sloukas, Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul guard
"I am happy and proud of my team, because we worked really good all this year and we deserve to play one more final. The last three years Fenerbahce is playing finals, so this means that finally, we are among the best teams in Europe. This was the dream of the Fener family. Tomorrow we play against a really good team with a full roster. It will be a very good and difficult game for us. I hope that we achieve taking the trophy."
"I don't think about my sixth final or fifth. This is for journalists and [fans]. My job is to go straight for the target we set at the beginning of the season. I am very happy that we are here and talking about the final game. You asked me about [being] a leader or not, I think the leader is the coach and their place is to try to make what he planned for the game. I have said many times that if we follow the plan that he makes, we will win the game. if not, we will lose. There is no matter about leaders. The leader is the coach and the plan that he makes before the game and from the beginning of the season."
"You speak about [Luka] being 18 years old and I think about myself how I was at 18. It is a miracle how he is playing. I think he is a quality player and he is one of the best in Europe, but Real, for me, has the best roster in the EuroLeague if they have everybody healthy and now they are healthy. It is very dangerous as a team. They have quality on offense; good, smart, experienced offensive players. So the danger is the whole team and the matter is how to stop them, not only one player. I hope tomorrow we make it and stop 12 players."
Pablo Laso, Real Madrid head coach
"We are playing the championship final in the EuroLeague. Happy to be here. Happy with the year we're having. Very proud of my players and the way they have competed since the first game. And right now we are facing a great team that did the job as well as us. There were the 16 teams, the best teams in Europe playing against each other. Tomorrow is Fenerbahce against Real Madrid. For me, it's a pleasure to be here, very proud of my players and expecting the final to start."
"It is difficult to say just one thing [that I learned from Zeljko when I played for him]. For me, it was day-by-day learning. Learning for me of things that maybe were stupid, but at the end, they worked. Since the first day that I arrived to Real Madrid, the two years was day-by-day learning. I think we had a great team, we were not very lucky at that time that Zeljko didn’t stay more time because I think that we could have created a team for years, but at that moment – let’s put it this way, it didn't work out. But, for me as a player, it was great having Zeljko as a coach. When you look [back] at the time, many years after, for sure many things that I have learned as a player with Zeljko I used as a coach. I always remember the game we won in the [Spanish Cup], with the game almost finished, I was playing very good. We got the game, two minutes to go, 11 points up. It was my time to have the ball control. He sat me down and said, 'Pablo, this is finished. Very good, you did your job. Leave.' I wanted to kill him! But, he was right. I was finished. 'Pablo, you did your job. Finished.' That was one of them. I could tell you a thousand stories, but I think in my career as a player, as a coach, I am very proud to have the opportunity to spend time with Zeljko."
"I guess you mean that we play with heart not only one game and that is achieved with time and hard work, good nights and bad nights. You either have the heart or you don't. I think my players have it. That's why I was that proud last night and said what I said. No team that reaches this level lacks heart or they would not be here. I think my team had it and showed it over time. I am proud of my players. Many times we are valued just because of results, which is normal on the other hand in sports, but as a coach, I value other things and I am proud of my guys."
Rudy Fernandez, Real Madrid forward
"It is a great opportunity to be in another final. We had a tough regular season with all our injuries, but we are here. It's a great opportunity to try to win against one of the best teams in Europe. It is great to see my team play like we did yesterday. It was amazing. And we are ready to play tomorrow."
"I think every final is a motivation, not any more against Fenerbahce specifically. Of course, of the last Final Fours we played, we weren't happy with the game against them nor the result. These situations are opportunities and we have to take them. We have the team healthy and after those difficulties, we are living in a dream being here. We have to enjoy it and not obsess over it being revenge. We have to enjoy being here and playing against such a great team in a great atmosphere. We are a team and we showed that yesterday."
"As we said, it was a tough season. We are saying the same things. We saw important players with tough injuries. That made us all see that we had to go in the same direction. We also saw our teammates try to recover fast. That motivated us to reach our goals even more while they were not with us. The coaching staff also managed the situation well and it all worked out. We reached the EuroLeague final and it all has to be positive. Pablo told us in the locker room 'It was tough guys, but let's enjoy it now', and that's how it has to be. Tomorrow we have a great opponent in front of us, but we have to enjoy it because we don't know if basketball will give us this chance again."
E. Carchia
@Sportando
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