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EUROLEAGUE INTERVIEWS 2006-2007 |
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In the history of European basketball, the 2007 Final Four at Athens Olympic Indoor Hall (OAKA) will be forever associated with victory by Panathinaikos and the role of Dimitris Diamantidis as MVP. On a night when all the world was watching and every shot was important - make or miss - Diamantidis had a near-perfect shooting performance as Panathinaikos dethroned previous champ CSKA 93-91. His 15 points were one reason for Diamantidis being voted MVP, but so was his singular specialty, the ball-hawking defense that has won him three consecutive Best Defender Trophy honors. Just as he has helped make defense into a feature that fans watch as intently as scoring, Diamantidis has opened up the MVP award to defensive players as perhaps no one before him. "I am a tool in a great basketball machine," Diamantidis told Euroleague.net. "I don't consider myself a star, I only think about being a dedicated player and a good professional."
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mai 28, 2007
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There was one big winner at Final Four weekend who went quite unnoticed by the majority of fans - even though he was very much one of them. Jorge Martinez, the 2006-07 Fantasy Challenge winner from Valencia, Spain, had the time of his life as Euroleague Basketball's VIP guest at Final Four weekend in Athens.
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mai 14, 2007
Panathinaikos
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It is time to consider the obvious: we have before us, in the prime of his career, not merely Europe's most successful coach, past or present, but one of the all-time greats to ever sit on a basketball bench.
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avril 27, 2007
Panathinaikos
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This season marks the end of the second full decade in which European clubs have been using the Final Four to decide a champion. More than half of those Final Fours have had Panathinaikos head coach Zeljko Obradovic as a protagonist. His debut appearance came as a player with Partizan at the very first Final Four in 1988.
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avril 27, 2007
Tau Ceramica
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When one of the most ambitious teams anywhere needed a new head coach to continue its already stellar Euroleague season, Tau Ceramica did not hesitate to call on Bozidar Maljkovic. He was not only the most successful coach available, but also the second-biggest winner of the entire Final Four era.
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avril 27, 2007
Unicaja
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If there is any coach who can teach his players about what a unique opportunity the Final Four represents, it is Sergio Scariolo of Unicaja. Despite performing at the top of his profession since 1990, when he became a head coach, the chance to live through a Final Four has come only once for him until now.
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avril 27, 2007
CSKA Moscow
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His team will remain champion until another is able to stop it - whether in the 2007 Final Four or beyond - and until that moment, CSKA Moscow head coach Ettore Messina is at the top of his profession, too. |
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