Jasikevicius and Parker Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv
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2005 FINAL FOUR
Moscow, Russia
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A surprising loss by heavily favored CSKA in the semifinals may have disappointed the locals at the 2005 Final Four in Moscow, but that didn't change the fact that history was made as Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv became the first team to repeat as Euroleague champions since the great Jugoplastika Split dynasty of a decade-and-a-half earlier. Maccabi bested Tau Ceramica 90-78 at the title game at the Olympiysky Arena in Moscow with Sarunas Jasikevicius commanding the yellow-and-blue orchestra with an MVP performance. From opening night, all eyes were on CSKA and Maccabi, the clear favorites to reach the final. CSKA torched all comers as it became the first team to finish the regular season with a 14-0 record, sweeping future Final Four opponents Tau Ceramica and Panathinaikos along the way. There was plenty of drama in the Top 16 as teams vied for spots in the first best-of-three Quarterfinal Playoffs. While CSKA and Maccabi cruised into the quarters, Panathinaikos and Tau slipped past Climamio in Group F on a tiebreaker and Benetton and Efes Pilsen did the same to AEK Athens in Group G.
Tau became the first team to finish second in the Top 16 and still reach the Final Four when it swept Benetton to join CSKA and Maccabi after two quarterfinals games. However Panathinaikos needed a deciding Game 3 in front of a packed house at the OAKA Olympic Hall before ousting Efes to join the other three. Once in Moscow, all expectations were for the Russian and Israeli champs to square off in a much-anticipated final, but they needed to play the games first. In the early semifinal game, Tel Aviv captain Derrick Sharp came off the bench to lead six Maccabi scorers with a season-high 20 points as the yellow-and-blue outshined the Greens 91-82. But the sensation took place a little later, as Tau beat mighty CSKA 78-85 behind an exceptional shooting display by Arvydas Macijauskas. With the score tied at 62-62 and less than 8 minutes remaining, Tau soared on a 2-11 run featuring three-pointers by Pablo Prigioni, Jose Manuel Calderon and Macijauskas to take full control. Macijauskas led the winners with 23 points, while J.R. Holden had 20 for CSKA. After a thrilling third-place game, in which Mike Batiste had 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead Panathinaikos over CSKA 91-94 in two overtimes, Maccabi and Tau took the court for the main event. Despite the best efforts of Luis Scola (21 points, 9 rebounds) and Jose Calderon (16 points), Jasikevicius and Maccabi were too strong, thrilling the 13,500 in the stands – more than half of whom were dressed in yellow – to win the title. Maceo Baston added 18 points and 7 rebounds, Nikola Vujcic posted 13 points and 7 assists and Nestoras Kommatos poured in 13 off the bench for Maccabi. Jasikevicius joined a select club of players to win three consecutive Euroleague titles after also helping Barca to the 2003 crown. Maccabi coach Pini Gershon also entered the history books for guiding Maccabi to a third European crown in as many seasons on the bench after taking a two-year break between 2001 and 2003.
Nikola Vujcic |
Interview: Nikola Vujcic of Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv
Nikola Vujcic grew up in Croatia not far from Split and as a child watched that club's great dynasty as Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja and co. won three straight Euroleague crowns. After playing a major role in Maccabi Tel Aviv's Euroleague title in 2004, he was motivated for another the next season. With almost the same team back from the previous season, Vujcic joined co-stars Anthony Parker and Sarunas Jasikevicius to create one of the most devastating attacks European basketball has ever seen. Maccabi started the season red-hot, topping the 100-point mark three times in the first five games – including a 50-point win against Scavolini – and then finished in style, winning 10 in a row to finish the season. Vujcic was at the center of it all, both literally and figuratively, winning All-Euroleague first team honors for the first time. The much anticipated matchup that season was to be between Maccabi and CSKA Moscow at the Final Four in the Russian capital. But Tau Ceramica killed that idea by upsetting CSKA in the semifinal and Maccabi knocked off Tau in the final to complete its mission as back-to-back champs.
Maccabi ended the previous season with a record-breaking final victory, but needed some high-wire finishes just to reach the Final Four. Going into the new 2004-05 season with basically the same team, was there a feeling of invincibility from the title game still or uncertainty while looking back, for instance, at Derrick's season-saving shot?
"Being the champs was a great feeling. It was exciting coming back with the same team and to try and get two in a row. We were much more confident that season because we had already been there – we won a championship. Of course everyone wanted to beat us, but we came back even more focused."
Was the possibility of repeating as champs, which no team had done in 14 years before that – since the Split dynasty of your childhood – a subject of discussion between the players or was it more taboo?
"We spoke about it. We wanted to be a part of history. Why not? We had a great team and we played much better that year. It was our goal."
What effect did CSKA making a record start of 17-0 that season, plus the Final Four being in Moscow, have on perceptions of the Euroleague's balance of power as the season went along? Did you expect to meet up with them eventually in a do-or-die situation?
"We expected to meet CSKA at some point. We didn't play them in the regular season and saw how they went undefeated. But Tau beat them and we ended up not playing against them at all."
Several Maccabi players spoke of feeling much less pressure going to Moscow as compared to the previous season. How about you? Was less pressure a factor in how well you guys played?
"I can't really say. There is always more pressure at home, because you really want to win there. But for us it was no different. We didn't feel any extra pressure because we had already won the year before. We had the same players back and we knew what to do."
What are the highlights in your memory of the Final Four itself?
"I was really impressed by the number of Maccabi fans in Moscow. It was unbelievable to see 10,000 fans come all the way from Israel to support us. That's the thing I remember best."