May 23, 2013
Saturday, May 2, 2009


Naturally 7 puts on a - and enjoys the - show

Naturally 7A highlight of the annual awards dinner this year was the performance of the band Naturally 7, which brought its distinctive Vocal Play music to the Final Four to entertain the fans. However the band is not merely serving as entertainment, they are also enjoying the on court performances as fans. Band member Dwight Stewart said the guys are big basketball fans are were excited to get the chance to perform at the Final Four, but have been overwhelmed with the passion they have seen from the fans and the players here in Berlin. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Stewart said after performing Saturday night. “The fans are amazing. We’ve enjoyed it so much. I think that the more people see this basketball around the world, the more they will love it.” Naturally 7 make their homes in New York, but are frequently on tour around Europe and hope to get the chance to see more Euroleague action in the future.


POSTED BY: FRANKIE SACHS, Berlin on Saturday, May 2 @ 22:57 pm




Coming next: awards night!

Now that evening practices for tomorrow's heavyweight title fight between CSKA Moscow and Panathinaikos have finished in o2 World, the court of the Final Four venue is being converted into a stage for the presentation of the season awards on Saturday night. The recognition of the biggest stars in the competition is the off-court highlight of Final Four weekend, and with quality of Friday's semifinals, no shower of praise is too much. A who's who of world basketball will be in attendance to find out which players are in the All-Euroleague first team and the MVP. The candidates are, at point guard: Theo Papaloukas of Oympiacos and Terrell McIntyre of Montepaschi Siena; at shooting guard and small forward, Vassilis Spanoulis of Panathinaikos, Juan Carlos Navarro of Regal FC Barcelona, Ramunas Siskauskas of CSKA Moscow and Igor Rakocevic of Tau Ceramica; and at power forward and center, Erazem Lorbek of CSKA, Ioannis Bourousis of Olympiacos, Tiago Splitter of Tau Ceramica and Nikola Pekovic of Panathinaikos. Also being honored are three awardees already announced: Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy winner Igor Rakocevic of Tau Ceramica, Best Defender Trophy winner Dimitris Diamantidis of Panathinaikos and Rising Star Trophy winner Novica Velickovic of Partizan Belgrade. The All-Euroleague nominees have been chosen by a combined vote of media and fans, while Euroleague head coaches were polled to decide the best defender and rising star. The stars will be out tonight in Berlin as the best players of the Euroleague season receive their much-deserved honors.


POSTED BY: FRANK LAWLOR, Berlin on Saturday, May 2 @ 20:32 pm


A coaching rivalry as seen through Greek mythology

Ettore Messina - CSKA Moscow, Press Conference Final - Final Four Berlin 2009CSKA Moscow head coach Ettore Messina's reputation as a source of humor in press conferences is such that, at Saturday's meeting with the press about the final, he was asked to say something funny. It came from a Greek journalist who alluded to Messina's comment after winning his fourth Euroleague title last season in Madrid that his wife still thinks that Zeljko Obradovic of Panathinaikos, who has a record six titles, is the better coach. "Even last night," Messina answered, "she called from Moscow after the games and she told me, 'Uh-oh, we are in trouble'." The laughter had not yet died down when Messina launched into an analogy about him and Obradovic from Greek mythology. "I am like Hector, the unlucky hero," Messina said with a smile. "Zeljko is Achilles, which means I am in trouble unless we find a little problem in his heel, maybe. But everyone remembers about Hector that they liked him. No one likes Achilles, so that's what I take from the story." Obradovic was laughing along with everyone else by now.


POSTED BY: FRANK LAWLOR, Berlin on Saturday, May 2 @ 18:35 pm


A night to remember in Berlin

There is a buzz in the air around the Final Four following the incredible night of semifinals on Friday that had fans, coaches, players and VIPs alike talking in exclamations about what they saw. You could hear that buzz in the air on Saturday from the headquarters hotel full of VIPs to the junior tournament arena's crowds of basketball experts to an official final press conference packed with global media. "A great night for basketball," said Euroleague.TV color analyst Johnny Rogers, on his way to the junior tournament semis. "What we saw very clearly was that despite all the pressure of a semifinal, when a couple plays can make or break the dreams of either team, the style of Euroleague basketball allows for spectacular plays, one after the other, as well as fascinating strategy." A scintillating first game in which CSKA Moscow came back to defeat Regal FC Barcelona and keep its title defense alive set the stage. The evening built to a crescendo with a second half between Panathinaikos that was one for the ages, ending with the Greens clinging to a two-point victory at the buzzer. Even for Greek media used to their intense rivalry, Friday night was extra-special. "It was a great night," said Yiannis Fileris of Sport24 website in Greece. "I think it was the best game between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos for many, many years. For us, the real surprise was the atmosphere. We are used to some other things in Greece, but thanks to the work of the Euroleague and the security, it was fantastic to see this game with fans of both teams doing what great fans do. Before the Final Four, we said it would be the best Final Four ever, and so far it's true. I think we will see a great final also, maybe even better than the 93-91 final between CSKA and Panathinaikos in Athens two years ago, if that's possible."

POSTED BY: FRANK LAWLOR, Berlin on Saturday, May 2 @ 15:47 pm
Saturday, May 02, 2009
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SCHEDULE
SEMIFINALS, May 1:
Regal FCB 78-82 CSKA Moscow
Olympiacos 82-84 Panathinaikos
3RD PLACE, May 3:
Olympiacos 79-95 Regal FCB
FINAL, May 3:
Panathinaikos 73-71 CSKA Moscow

FINAL FOUR TEAMS

DEVOTION

2008-09 ALL-EL TEAM, MVP
Jordi Bertomeu, Juan Carlos Navarro

FINAL FOUR SLIDE SHOW
Vassilis Spanoulis - Panathinaikos - Final Four Berlin 2009