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The best of the opening press conference

The best of the opening press conference

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23 May 20245 Mins read

The best of the opening press conference

The first official act of the 2024 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four was the opening Press Conference, which was held in the grand lobby at Uber Arena in the German capital. Coach Chus Mateo and Walter Tavares represented defending champion Real Madrid, Coach Georgios Bartzokas and Kostas Papanikolaou were there from Olympiacos Piraeus, Coach Ergin Ataman and Kostas Sloukas from Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, and Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius and Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. Here are the moments basketball fans need to be aware of from the hour-long event.

The coaches trade compliments, not jabs

Mutual respect was on display from the very beginning as all four head coaches made sure to play nicely against their opponents. In his opening statement, Mateo said that Olympiacos has “the heart of a champion” and that the Reds are “gentlemen on the court and on the bench. We respect them a lot.” Bartzokas later called Real “a winning machine.”

Keep an eye out for Nigel’s kicks

Earlier this season, Hayes-Davis adopted a pet cat named Sly that was found in the VIP Room of Ulker Sports and Event Hall and he was asked about whether Sly was with him in Berlin. Though he answered in the negative, the Fenerbahce forward shared some news that fans will have to watch for: “I do have some custom shoes dedicated to her that I’ll be wearing.”

It’s about the little things… and luck

“It’s a matter of which team will be in the best shape, on the best day, small details and a bit of luck, because luck is part of sports. This is what defines who is going to be the final winner,” said Papanikolaou.

Sloukas agreed. “In these kinds of games, tactics in one hand, but most important is how much you want to win. Talking about rebounds, small things, steals, easy baskets, how to use fouls. These are the most important things in these kinds of games,” the Panathinaikos guard continued. “Luck is part of the game, especially in a 40-minute game, and I hope luck will be with us.”

“These games come down to the details,” Hayes-Davis added. “The rebounds, loose balls. Those are the plays that when you go to sleep after losing, or a year or two from now, when you think about why you lost the game, you think about that rebound that you should have got if you had taken an extra step or were in the right spot.”

There are no favorites

“Coach Bartzokas said that we are four of the best teams in the EuroLeague and none of us are undefeated, which means that anyone can be beaten on any night,” Hayes Davis said in his opening statement.

“There is always pressure when you come to play in the Final Four. When you get so close to the trophy, it is normal,” added Papanikolaou. “Media usually is the one who represents who is the favorite or not. I don’t believe in that. I believe that each team that is here has the same percentage. It is two games to win the trophy.”

Memories from 2009

One of the lightest moments of the press conference came when Jasikevicius was asked about his memories of winning the EuroLeague as a Panathinaikos player in 2009. He started off by calling it “the best Final Four in terms of quality, the best Final Four in terms of games coming down to the last shot.” One of those games was the semifinals between the two Greek clubs when Kostas Sloukas played for Olympiacos.

“Kostas [Sloukas] told me on the way to the stage that he was left out of the 12 for the semifinal. I didn’t know that,” Jasikevicius said before pivoting to Ataman with some advice. “By the way, Ergin, you should think about this strategy for tomorrow… Maybe think about it.”

Ataman replied: “You know, when we beat you in OAKA this year, Kostas was injured and out of the team!”

And Jasikevicius told him: “So don’t change what is working!”

Doing it for Rudy

Three-time champion Rudy Fernandez has announced that this will be his final season and the Real Madrid representatives spoke glowingly of the veteran.

“He is extra motivated, probably for this reason, Mateo said of Fernandez. “We all know that he is going to leave professional basketball from the summer probably and we will try to gift him the last trophy for him. This is one of the reasons we are fighting.”

Tavares added: “That is one of my motivations. As a fan he is one of my favorite players. What he does on the court, what he does off the court… For me, one of the biggest motivations is to help him win the EuroLeague in his last season.”