The Euroleague Final Four is about to get underway on Friday when Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce will do battle in the first semifinal while Real Madrid and Olympiacos will tip-off in the night cap. Prior to the games, the coaches as well as a player from each team spoke at the annual press conference that kicks off the weekend. <\/p>\n
Chus Mateo, Real Madrid Coach<\/strong> Edy Tavares<\/strong> Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos coach<\/strong> Kostas Papanikolau<\/strong> \u201cThere is always pressure when you come and play the final four and you want to be the team that wants to win it. It\u2019s two games to get to the title.\u201d<\/p>\n We just got to be ourselves and we will play against Madrid who are the strongest team but they are not undefeated. We respect them a lot and we have a group of guys that are sticking together and we have no fear playing against any opponent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really important for Greek basketball to have two reps at the final four and it\u2019s good for the youth to get involved with the game of basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n Ergin Ataman, Panathinaikos<\/strong> \u201cI think that this is not a national team competition and a European competition. As a Turk I am the coach of a Greek team and I don\u2019t think that this is important. We are playing a semifinal against Fenerbahce which will be a tough game. I have big emotions as I won the cup twice and my goal is to win it again but 8 do know that my colleagues have the same goal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI promise to bring the 7th star to OAKA.\u201d<\/p>\n Kostas Sloukas<\/strong> \u201cIt\u2019s about how much you want to win, how you use your fouls and all of the small things. Luck is part of the game and I hope that we will have that in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something incredible for Greek basketball fans that two teams are playing at the highest of levels. I\u2019m happy that I made the decision and it was for motivation which has been following me my entire career.\u201d<\/p>\n Saras Jasikevicius, Fenerbahce coach<\/strong> \u201cYou can\u2019t think further than the next day and next practice, you identify the few goals that you want to reach. We have an experienced group and we didn\u2019t place any big expectations on ourselves where we will try and try and try and out the product on the court and hope that things work out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think we will come and try to do our best, we didn\u2019t expect some of the records to be hit and it was only after they happened we understood. But we are here to win by one point and I would be satisfied to win by 1-point.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne badly made rebound can make a difference and in life you have to give yourself an opportunity after a tough series against Monaco just like the other 3 teams that are here.\u201d<\/p>\n Nigel Hayes-Davis<\/strong> The most important thing is to enjoy where you are and we don\u2019t take that for granted that we are here, these games come down to the small details. The rebounds, the loose balls and when you go to sleep in two years you\u2019ll remember things.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Euroleague Final Four is about to get underway on Friday when Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce will do battle in the first semifinal while Real Madrid and Olympiacos will tip-off in the night cap. Prior to the games, the coaches as well as a player from each team spoke at the annual press conference that kicks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":111272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-111271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-land-hoops","tag-euroleague","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\u201cWe are pleased to be here at yet another Final 4. The most important thing is for us to understand how to win against our opponents, we have a very big game against a great team in Olympiacos and we have great respect for them. We are not defending a title. We are in a new tournament and right now we have a semifinal coming up as we respect our opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe have a lot of experience to have guys that can lead us when we have the tough moments, we have a team that wants to win another trophy but we have to focus on the future and not the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe are super motivated to be in the Final 4 and to be one of the best four teams to be here. We are excited to be here against Real Madrid and we have a group of fighters who will do the best for our team. We have a group of people on and off of the court that has transferred the mentality of the club. <\/p>\n
\n\u201cThis is a weekend of sports and basketball and that\u2019s what the focus should be on, we need to do the simple stuff and follow the coach\u2019s plan while enjoying the Final Four experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI believe the history of the club that PAO is one of the biggest and greatest clubs in European basketball. I want that all of our supporters to enjoy this and experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019m happy and proud of my teammates and club. PAO deserves to be here and we have to be humble and motivated and hungry to win the trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe coaches have a tougher job leading up to the final four with so many responsibilities and basketball. The players have to come and play well which we hope will be what we will do by putting good performances on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nCoach said we have to play our best, none of us are undefeated here and anyone can be beaten on any night. Hopefully we can put on our best performance.\u201d<\/p>\n