CSKA Moscow has made it to its 10th Euroleague Final Four in 11 years. For a team that regularly reaches Europe's signature basketball event, just being there will not be enough for the Russian powerhouse. Expectations have always been high, but they increased when legendary coach Ettore Messina returned to CSKA's bench last summer. Of course, CSKA has lived up to the expectations, winning its Top 16 group and losing just twice outside the Russian capital. CSKA brings its strong play into the Final Four and is targeting its seventh Euroleague title. If it keeps doing what it has done all season and uses previous experiences as a motivating factor, CSKA has a serious shot to lift the Euroleague title.

Versatility pays off in a Final Four environment and Coach Messina is fully aware. Messina started to test new things this season, and some of the things that he did for a few minutes became good resources for his team. For instance, CSKA started to use Sasha Kaun and Nenad Krstic together on court early in the season, as he tried to gage how the players could play together. When Victor Khryapa missed some games due to injury, the experiment became much more than that, as Krstic and Kaun started four games together. When Khryapa returned to action, Messina had another surprise up his sleeve, using him and Sonny Weems at the wings in a critical game against Real Madrid, which CSKA won. From that moment, it has not been unusual to see a tall, strong lineup featuring Weems, Khryapa, Zoran Erceg and Kaun. Messina has also used three point guards - Milos Teodosic, Theo Papaloukas and Aaron Jackson – together on court. In other words, his deep roster offers a lot of... more

As a Euroleague.net writer and editor since 2006 and the site's correspondent in Tel Aviv before that, Frankie Sachs has had the honor to see dozens of Euroleague games live and hundreds more on Euroleague.TV. One of his claims to fame is being among the very few live witnesses the two greatest shots of this century – Derrick Sharp's miracle three against Zalgiris in 2004 and Georgios Printezis's title-winning basket last season. Now, after years of editing some of the many personalities and journalists who have written and continue to write for Euroleague.net, Frankie will regale readers each week with what he's looking forward to most in the next Turkish Airlines Euroleague games. Follow him on Twitter @MrEuroleague.

The essence of beautiful basketball rests in the soul of Real Madrid. What makes basketball a truly wonderful sport is that teamwork is at its essence. Five players working together, sharing the ball, creating for one another, uniting on defense, etc. will triumph even against five superior players if the latter are not playing as a team. But when it comes to Los Blancos, the real treat is that the brilliant teamwork often comes from a group of players that also boast superior individual talents. From the first player to the 12th among Coach Pablo Laso’s charges, there is passion for basketball and though they all attack the game differently, the end result remains a thing of beauty.

The tone for Madrid’s beautiful basketball begins in the backcourt with the foursome of Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Llull, Jaycee Carroll and Sergio Rodriguez. The various talents and skills of each of these players has been... more

When can the team with the best record in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague coming into the Final Four also be considered an underdog?

When that team is FC Barcelona Regal, which is struggling with more late-season injuries than any Final Four participant in recent memory.

When can an underdog also be considered a true contender to lift the trophy on Sunday?

When that team is FC Barcelona Regal, which has the one key ingredient that matters whether or not its team is healthy: great defense.

For each of the last two seasons, no team has held opponents to fewer points than Barcelona. Xavi Pascual's troops have proven again and again on the toughest courts in Europe that they play a system that gives them a chance to win anytime, anywhere. Inded, Barcelona is the only team in London that has beaten two of the other Final Four teams this season. And not just beat them.

In the regular season, Barcelona handed CSKA Moscow its worst home loss in the Euroleague this century, 60-81. The defense did that, and even though CSKA returned the favor on the road a month later, Barcelona had already proved to itself that on the right night, with the right tactics and mindset, it was capable of doing what no other team in 13 years has been able to do. That comes down to mental toughness, and when teams are injured, they tend to take strength from within. Barcelona has a well of strength to draw on in London.

In the Top 16, Barcelona went to Piraeus and pasted defending champion Olympiacos by double digits, too. They did it that time with offense, winning 77-90. That required another side of Barcelona's... more

When the Final Four rolls around, the most difficult thing is to pick a favorite. So, why would I go through this exercise and not simply wait and see what happens? First of all because I really love thinking, talking and writing about basketball. Secondly, I truly believe that the team I’m going to expound on has a chance to do it.

Olympiacos Piraeus is the defending Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion. In many years, that would be reason enough to pick it as the winner. However this season many analysts are calling – and not without reason –the Reds the underdog, just as they were 12 months ago in Istanbul. The club, coach and the players know that, because they watch TV, read the articles and listening to opinions like anybody else. And they are not offended by the situation. They use this as an enormous motivation.

When I met up with Pero Antic a few days ago, he told me: “That’s how newspapers are sold; that’s not our problem.” He and teammates like Kyle Hines told me that they actually like being the underdog. That may be normal for a team that has an undersized starting center, changed head coaches after a tremendously successful season on all fronts and still has players that feel the need to prove that they belong at the top level.

However Olympiacos has one of those rare players who make dreams come true. The leader of the team, Vassilis Spanoulis, impresses me not only for how good he is on the floor, but also for his charisma. Olympiacos believes in a team-first philosophy and has turned that into great success, but every player on the team knows that there is only one Spanoulis. His vision on the pick-and-roll, his ability to make big plays and not to become... more