May 23, 2013
Final Four blog: Jan Jagla
Jan Jagla - DKV JoventutWell, I am back blogging for Euroleague.net after a great summer in which some of you followed me and the German national team as we achieved one of our biggest goals by competing in the Olympic tournament. Even though we were not able to play our best basketball while we stayed in Beijing it was still one of the greatest experiences competing alongside some of the world's most amazing athletes, like Michael Phelps, LeBron James or Rafa Nadal.

But now lets get back to the new season that lies just around the corner. Not only are all the local leagues kicking off their season, but the Euroleague will open its doors to the public now. A huge focus has to be on the lone German team that has the chance to start the Euroleague season at home on October 23. Alba is also the only team that has the opportunity to finish the season at home, at the Euroleague Final Four in Berlin next May.

The 2009 Final Four will be held at the brand new O2 World, which recently opened its doors for competition and concerts and showcases. Arguably the nicest arena on our continent, with close to 17,000 spectators for basketball, O2 World will be Alba's homecourt this season, too. As the only Euroleague player born and bred in Berlin, I can only say how proud I am that our great sport will be showcased in my city, and how excited I am for fans in the German capital and beyond to enjoy the best of European basketball there. One can only imagine that playing against Alba Berlin at O2 World, as DKV Joventut and I will do in early November, will be an unforgettable experience for me. I can't even describe what actually playing the Final Four there would mean, for me or any Euroleague player lucky enough to get there.

Alba was probably still the thinking about the first hockey match at O2 World, won by the home team 11-0 (!), when they themselves won their first German League home game in front of 15,000 fans, one of the biggest crowds ever to see a basketball game on German ground. That's saying something in a country where basketball, up until a few years ago, was almost unnoticed. Basketball is still a sport that needs to develop even more in Germany, which has the money and the expertise to build contenders in all the big basketball competitions.

I think the path is laid out and now it's just a matter of sticking with it and making sure that this country becomes one of the basketball powerhouses for years to come. I can only imagine what an event like the Euroleague Final Four, which would electrify anybody with even a marginal interest in sports, will do for this up-and-coming basketball nation. The people need to be left wanting more and I am sure the Euroleague will give them just that!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Jan Jagla - Badalona, Spain
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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