On the eve of the semifinals at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four, the four aspirants to the title are holding their first full practices at Zalgirio Arena on Thursday evening and attending to the hundreds of accredited media on hand this weekend in Kaunas. 

The traditional media availability is a final opportunity for the journalists who have flocked to Kaunas to get the pulse of the players and coaches before they count down to the first tipoff on Friday between Olympiacos Piraeus and AS Monaco, whose winner will face the victor in the second semifinal, FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid.

FINAL FOUR BLOG

Between the practices for the first game, many questions were aimed at Donatas Motiejunas of Monaco, who is playing his first Final Four in his hometown.

"I think such event in a place like this should happen at some point and it's better that it happens now," Motiejunas said. "I hope it's not not a last event that's going to come to this beautiful place that loves basketball so much."

Thomas Walkup on returning to Kaunas: 'It feels like home'

Another popular interviewee was Thomas Walkup of Olympiacos, who spent three seasons in Kaunas before moving to Athens, and joked about the weather difference between the two.

"The long winters I think were the best part," Walkup said, tongue planted firmly in cheek. "Yeah, I really miss the snow. The Athens weather is terrible."

Local fans might do a double-take at the length of Walkup's red beard, which he decided not to shave as Olympiacos marched to first place in the regular season and through the playoffs to get to its second consecutive Final Four.

"Yeah, not just myself but the team is pretty superstitious in general," he said, "so it's only fitting that we got a playoff beard going. And, from there, I've just kind of kept it."

Final Four teams meet the media at Zalgirio Arena!

The 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four Press Conference took place at the FanZone on Thursday lunchtime, and one team's presence stood out more than the rest. While there were representatives of the Final Four teams on the stage, there was already a sizeable contingent of Olympiacos's supporters both inside and outside the venue.

In fact, the chants from the Reds fans' outside on the street could be heard inside the venue, leading to a funny question from one reporter, who asked AS Monaco's Mike James what he thought. "It's fun. It's nice to have fans, I guess," James responded with a grin on his face.

In this new format for the press conference, which also featured questions posed by fans on social media and saw a surprise reveal for the MVP award, some specially selected supporters were also able to attend the event and watch on from an elevated stand. Speaking after the event, one Olympiacos fan gave his thoughts on the experience:

"We found it by luck. We were roaming the EuroLeague website and we found that we could register for this one. It's amazing," he said. "It's really nice that the EuroLeague this year set a whole bunch of seats for fans in order to experience the whole thing and get into the spirit of the press conference. Of course, it was very good to see Sasha \[Vezenkov\] win the MVP award, Coach \[Georgios\] Bartzokas to win the Best Coach Award this year, because we are from Greece and we've come here for Olympiacos. We're season ticket holders in Greece, so I would say that we're very enthusiastic about the sport. It's really nice, the setting. We see it happening in the next years, of course. Since it's our first touch with the whole organization and the Final Four this year, we expect it to be really, really well produced and the experience to be shared with our kids, our grandkids and whoever comes our way."

Olympiacos fans at the Tip-off Event

Outside, a group of Olympiacos supporters were there waiting for Coach Bartzokas, Papanikolaou and Vezenkov to leave, and Bartzokas even posed for a photo with the fans before heading back to the team's hotel. The atmosphere provided by the travelling Olympiacos supporters is likely to be a sign of things to come, as the Reds are expected to have the largest group of fans at the 2023 Final Four.

Olympiacos brings the atmosphere to the FanZone Press Conference

It's hard to imagine any city loving basketball more than Kaunas. The city of roughly 300,000 has five basketball academies, which is two and half times as many soccer academies as there are in Kaunas. The largest and most well-known of them is Zalgaris Basketball Academy. 

Originally known as Sabonis Basketball Academy, it merged with the Kaunas Basketball School several years ago and now has more than 1,000 players aged 7 through 18. Among the many stars to have gone through the ranks at the academy to become future stars is Paulius Jankunas, who after retiring from a glorious playing career now serves as Zalgiris's assistant general manager. 

An inside look at Zalgiris Basketball Academy with Paulius Jankunas

A native of Kaunas, Jankunas welcomed the EuroLeague cameras for a tour of the pride and joy of Zalgiris. The complex features four basketball courts, nine dressing rooms, a fitness center and a conference hall. The academy has 26 experienced coaches and most players have five practices plus one game a week. Zalgiris operates the academy in conjunction with the City of Kaunas, which allows it to heavily subsidize the costs. Players pay just 20 euros per month!

Jankunas takes the cameras to see the two main practice halls, one of which features huge photos of the academy's famous graduates, such as Marius Grigonis, Lukas Lekavicius, Mantas Kalnietis and Jankunas himself. Let's have a look at one of the best basketball schools in the world, guided by Zalgiris legend Paulius Jankunas.

All four coaches and a player per team met the press and some surprise guests at the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four Tip-Off Event, sharing their impressions ahead of an exciting basketball weekend in Kaunas. 

The first questions, however, came from fans around the world. Vasilis Bolovnis asked Olympiacos team captain Kostas Papanikolaou in which moment of the season he told himself his team would go very far. 

"I don't think in this year's EuroLeague you could, at any point, tell that this could be a good year or not. It was a very competitive season, as Joe \[Arlauckas} said, the most competitive," Papanikolaou said. "I don't think that any team, at any point, had confidence or was 100% sure that it was going to be a great season."

"Honestly, this is my first Final Four and it is an amazing feeling to be here, in this event. It has been my dream since I watched as a kid the 2006 Final Four in Prague, my hometown," FC Barcelona guard Tomas Satoransky answered to EuroLeague fan Chrysanth Spanopoulou's question. "It is one of those things you want to experience as a player, being in that position. This season has been fun, but it is also a big challenge to be here." 

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." 

Coaches, players meet the press - and some surprise guests!

The 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four is officially underway! The 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four Tipoff Event got the Final Four started with some big news: Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus has been officially crowned the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP. Vezenkov has been chosen as the competition's most valuable player after making it to the All-EuroLeague First Team in each of the two seasons.

Vezenkov was in an auditorium at Zalgirio Arena, and thought he would be interviewed by Sofia del Prado, and found an audience wearing masks with his face. He found out some of them were his parents and sister, who were asked to join him on the stage and break the news. Euroleague Basketball president Dejan Bodiroga handed him the MVP trophy. Vezenkov was taken to the Fan Zone, joining the tip-off event hosted by Joe Arlauckas, and was received with a big ovation.

"I want to thank everybody who voted for me, and the whole organization of Olympiacos," Vezenkov said. "The presidents, the coach, the whole coaching staff, each player. We were 10 months together to reach the Final Four and be here." 

"It is a big honor and I am really happy but for me, nothing will change. I will be the same person every day, try to improve, try to work hard, try to make my team successful, because we play a team sport in which if your team is not at the highest level, you cannot be at the highest level. For me, this will be a motivation to keep working hard, to prove myself that this year is not just one year, that I can be consistent. In sports, consistency is the most difficult thing," he added. "I hope this is just the beginning."

Vezenkov crowned MVP in the Tipoff Event!

The 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four Tipoff Event, taking place at the Unity Square FanZone, officially gets the weekend’s festivities started. There will be an official press conference featuring all four coaches, as well as one player per team: Dzanan Musa of Real Madrid, Tomas Satoransky of FC Barcelona, Mike James of AS Monaco and Kostas Papanikolaou of Olympiacos Piraeus. Journalists and a limited number of lucky fans will be present at the event, and there will be some big news, we can guarantee that. 

The tipoff event will be the first of many activities taking place at the FanZone, which opens from 10:00 to 23:00 between Friday and Sunday. Final Four stars and EuroLeague Ambassadors will visit the Unity Square on Saturday, and there will be 3x3 tournaments, Slam Dunk and three-point contests, One Team sessions, performances by the Zalgiris Kaunas cheerleaders and much more. Don't miss the FanZone concerts on Saturday night, featuring Beatrich and DJ Jovani. But until then, the players and coaches take center stage at the FanZone to get this basketball party started. 

Follow the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four Tipoff Event here: 

The Tipoff Event is underway!

Kaunas Sports Hall is the home of great basketball once again. FC Barcelona and Panathinaikos Athens had the honor of playing the first basketball game since the famed hall was refurbished when they opened the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals on Thursday morning. 

Nearly two dozen scouts from around the world were on hand to catch the action. All of the basketball-related equipment for the event is state of the art with the hardwood floor coming from Zalgiris Kaunas, while Euroleague Basketball arranged for brand-new baskets and stanchions as well as scoreboards. 

While many well-known players and coaches can be expected to attend ANGT games this weekend, the biggest name at the opening game was Euroleague Basketball Legend Juan Carlos Navarro, who sat courtside in his role as Barcelona general manager. 

There will be three more games today and four on both Friday and Saturday before the top teams meet in Sunday’s championship game for the continental club junior crown. If you are in Lithuania, make sure to stop in at Kaunas Sports Hall to see the stars of tomorrow in action. 

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Icon in the house! <br><br>Juan Carlos Navarro watching on as the <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FCBbasket</a> younger generation play on Day One at the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdidasNGT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AdidasNGT</a> 🏀 <a href="https://t.co/N7sEznA8sS">pic.twitter.com/N7sEznA8sS</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1659084057748070400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

ANGT Finals start strong at renovated Kaunas Sports Hall

After last night's arrival of the four teams competing in the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four, today is the first full day of activities in Kaunas, Lithuania for Olympiacos Piraeus, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and AS Monaco. Before that, though, the junior teams get the party started as part of the Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals.

 

Once the first few games in the ANGT are in the books, the attention soon switches to the Final Four tipoff event, which is another highlight moment during the event's festivities. The regular-season MVP will be announced at the tipoff event, too!

Then, in the evening, the Final Four teams will have their team practices as they begin to refamiliarize themselves with playing at Zalgirio Arena, having played there at least once this season (or twice in the case of Barca, which beat Zalgiris Kaunas there in Game 3 of the playoffs). Everything is moving full steam ahead in Kaunas, one of the most passionate cities in the world for basketball, and a fantastic weekend of EuroLeague action is soon set to get underway!

The Day 2 festivities are already in full swing!

The 2023 Final Four can be considered officially underway in Kaunas, Lithuania, with the arrival of the Olympiacos Piraeus on Wednesday evening to the headquarters hotel for the teams. The Reds, who finished first in the regular season and clinched their Final Four spot with a Game 5 home win just eight days ago, will be aiming to go one step further than last season and lift their first Turkish Airlines EuroLeague crown in a decade.

Fast on the heels of Olympiacos, the other three Final Four teams – AS Monaco, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid – will be making their arrivals at Kaunas Airport to get settled and start attending to the growing throng of international media on hand for the festivities.

After the Final Four Tipoff Event at noon on Thursday local time, which you can follow live on EuroLeague digital platforms, the teams will get their first touch of the basketballs at Zalgirio Arena, the magnificent venue for Friday's semifinals and Sunday's crowning moment, the championship game. One of the great basketball cities on the planet, Kaunas, is all dressed up for its first Final Four, the teams are arriving, and the best weekend in the sport is on the way!