There were more surprises, one for each team, three-time champion Kyle Hines, former tennis player Alex Corretja, Final Four amabassador Jonas Maciulis and former Final Four MVP Luka Doncic sent videos with questions.
Hines asked Coach Bartzokas and Papanikolaou what they remembered the most about the 2012-13 EuroLeague-winning squad. "Kyle Hines was a big part of that 2013 title in London. I am really happy to see him playing even now," Coach Bartzokas said. "It wasn't easy at all, especially for me, as a newcomer at the highest level. But we had a very strong team from the previous season with some new pieces. The team had a lot of confidence, they believed in themselves. Olympiacos always has some amazing players like Kyle, Kostas, Spanoulis, Printezis and those legendary players. But the team effort in our club was always the key."
Maciulis asked Mike James how happy he was to take Monaco to the Final Four for the first time. "As organization, I think it is big to be here and experience it with everybody else for the first time. It kind of feel like my first time," James said. "It is fun to be here, it is a good event. I am just trying to enjoy the moment and trying to get some wins.
Doncic asked about Real's playoffs mentality. "I believe that our team is in a good spot right now," Musa answered. "We have great momentum coming into the Final Four and of course, as Luka said, we will try to get the same momentum in the Final Four. It won't be easy, but we try to live the moment, go game by game, play by play and see what happens in the end."
"I think this is the easiest Final Four. If you think about it, my whole family is here, they don't have to travel, I just have to pay for the tickets, that's it!," Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius joked about having the Final Four in his hometown. "All the surroundings are very comfortable, the arena is like home. So far, everything is extremely comfortable."
"It is nice to have fans, I guess," James answered on playing in front of Olympiacos fans, making everyone laugh. "I am excited for the first game and ready to go."
Asked about his team's virtues, Coach Chus Mateo of Real was clear: "We got the home-court advantage and in the end, it was key to get past the playoffs. Iy was hard to qualify and now, there is no turning back. The past, injuries, stats, favorites don't matter. We have to enjoy the Final Four after the job we did and of course, we want to win it. We are here to compete and give our best."
"It is a great honor for me, for the players, for Monaco, for basketball fans in our country. I believe that throughout the season, we promoted basketball in the best possible way," Coach Sasa Obradovic said. "Even though sometimes there ws less appreciation to what we did, those comments motivated us even more to do the job over the line, and I think we definitely did it."
