Retired greats predict the winners

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four weekend also attracts a slew of former players and Belgrade is no exception.

A few of the many former champs and All-EuroLeague members were willing to give a brief analysis of tonight’s championship game and they are pretty split about who will win it.

David Andersen, three-time EuroLeague champion

Among the people who came from farthest away to be in Belgarde for the Final Four is three-time EuroLeague champion David Andersen, who retired as a player last year and now serves as Special Projects and Player Liason with the Australian NBL. Anderson spent 11 seasons in the EuroLeague and won the championship with Virtus Bologna once and CSKA Moscow twice.

“Great games and I wanted to see some close ones and you don’t get much closer than a buzzer-beater like that. It was amazing to watch,” he said of the semifinals. “Obviously I was disappointed for the Olympiacos fans. It was great and I got to show [Australian NBL commissioner Jeremy Loeliger] how it goes down and the crazy passion that the fans have.”

As for Saturday night’s main event, this is Andersen’s prediction: “I don’t know. It’s gonna be balanced. Real Madrid is one of the premier teams in European basketball and have been around for so long. But Efes are the reigning champs. They have a veteran roster and their players deliver in the big clutch moments of games. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Turkish basketball will be successful and Efes will win.”

Dusan Kecman, 2009 EuroLeague champion

Dusan Kecman is enjoying the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in his hometown. A EuroLeague champion with Panathinaikos Athens in 2009 and a long-time Partizan Belgrade player, he was not surprised by what he witnessed on Thursday.

"The semifinals were great, as expected", Kecman said. "Efes won on a memorable basket by Vasilije Micic, but I think Olympiacos missed its chance down the stretch, missing some shots that would have changed the outcome. But, Efes still deserved it and now has a chance to defend the trophy."

To do that, it has to beat Real Madrid, a team that is full of experience with many previous champions.

"Real is a real quality team with Coach Pablo Laso on the bench. Despite all the turmoil, all the ups and downs and the losing streak they had this season, they are a championship team. Many people kind of wrote them off, but they a team of champions."

Who does Kecman, who did spend part of one season with Efes during his playing days, see with an upper hand in Saturday's clash?

"It will be a great game, but I would give the slightest edge to Real because they have a longer rotation. Efes has injury problems, with Kruno Simon out, Micic banged up, and Rodrigue Beaubois looks like he is not fully recovered. Micic and Larkin played a lot of minutes in the semifinals. Real can physically match Efes, which is obviously highly talented offensively, you never know who will step up and contribute like Elijah Bryant did in the semifinals. But Real has a roster that is covered at every position and with those players less used than Efes, I give Real a slight advantage."

Ramunas Siskauskas, Euroleague Basketball legend

Former EuroLeague MVP and two-time champion Ramunas Siskauskas is enjoying his weekend in Belgrade as one of the Final Four Ambassadors.

"The semifinals were fantastic. Actually, I don't remember when both semifinals were played until the last second. That was great to watch and surely great to play! We enjoyed the semifinals very much," Siskauskas said.

Because of his vast experience in championship games, Siskauskas understands what must be done to win. Nevertheless, he was reluctant to predict a winner.

"Both teams are great and showed good basketball in the semifinals, so I think that it will be close, also,” Siskauskas said. “Everybody knows that defending the title is more difficult than winning it, but [Efes] is in the final and it is only one game, so I would say it is 50-50. It is so hard to say! I would give a 51-49 edge to Efes. In these games, all small details are very important. Every rebound, every lost ball, every foul... everything will be very important. I think that those small details will give the winning team a chance."

Nikos Zisis, 2008 EuroLeague champion

A veteran of four Final Fours with three different clubs, retired point guard Nikos Zisis has great insight into what it takes to succeed at the big event and how easily the game can go to one side or the other.

"I think all finals are very difficult to predict, that is a fact. I believe this one is even more difficult. On one side, you have the champions. I believe it is the favorite [Efes] because it has the most dangerous players in crunch time, both Micic and Larkin, able to create their own shots and make them, and also create for their teammates. We saw that in the semifinal,” Zisis commented. “On the other side, it's Real. I think they have a bigger advantage in the frontcourt, with Tavares and Yabusele, and they have big experience overall, it is their fifth final in 10 years, with players not with the same impact as in the past, Sergi Llull and Rudy Fernandez, but great players, great leaders. I believe they are going to be ready and they know they have a chance - it might be their last chance to win it, so they will have a huge motivation. It is very open, I anticipate a great game, and small details will decide it."

After dissecting the finalists, Zisis agreed to pick a favorite: "I would give it to Efes but really, it will not surprise me at all if Madrid wins. I don't believe they are the real favorite and my personal take is that they seem to be maybe a little tired. I know Beaubois is not 100%, Micic the same, Simon is out and this is a huge miss, but Bryant had a great game, he stepped up. So I give a small edge to Efes, but anything can happen."