By Alkis Spyrou
ProBasketballNews.com
Let the games begin. At the Community of Madrid Sports Palace May 2-4, the heart of European basketball will beat as one of the most exciting and intriguing Final Fours ever. Two of the best clubs, CSKA Moscow and Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv, will fight with two others, Montepaschi Siena and TAU Cerámica, who have made names for themselves among Europe's elite.
At the same time, Euroleague Basketball will be the proud host of a celebration to honor the 50th anniversary of continental club competitions and the greatest names of an entire half-century.
CSKA Moscow vs. TAU Cerámica
Although this is the fourth consecutive Final Four
that theses team are part of (actually CSKA has
six consecutive appearances, which of course, is
a record) they only met once.
And they both remember it very well. It was the semifinal in 2005 in Moscow. CSKA with Dusan Ivkovic at the bench and the favorite to return to the top of Europe after 34 years. But Ivanovic’s team that featured the guard triplet of Pablo Prigioni, Jose Manuel Calderon and Arvydas Macijauskas, spoiled the party and beat them with 85-78. CSKA had to wait for Prague and 2006 to conquer Euroleague while TAU was never featured in another final.
Both teams’ strength is the perimeter, where they could kill anybody in their day with the 3-pointers and passes to the perimeter when driving to the basket. Their big men are soft and they can execute from the high post, which makes them extra dangerous. They have kept they core players for the past four years, which is why they are very successful, and are the epitome of the word team. We could summarize them as the new-age teams that have excellent transition game with their speedy players.
This Final Four could be the last for Ettore Messina as CSKA’s head coach (and perhaps David Blatt as his replacement). The rumors that he has signed for Barcelona are becoming louder. Also, Messina may take Smodis and Andersen with him (while Papaloukas most probably will return to Greece). All of which could signal the end for this generation of the Russian team.
Maccabi Elite vs. Montepaschi Siena
Maccabi is going to its seventh Final Four in the past nine years! Now that’s what I call consistency. Siena -- who qualified first with a sweep of Fenerbahce -- its third Final Four appearance, following a third-place finish in 2003 and fourth-place in 2004.
Siena is the most consistent team of this year’s Euroleague and it seemed like Simone Panigiani’s team was practicing during the regular season with the championship in mind. With a solid core of eight players, Siena has to be considered the favorite. They may not have the experience, but they have showed -- this year at least -- that they can take the extra step and move into the finals.
Zvika Sherf, on the other hand, has transformed Maccabi since his arrival and hopes to complete its dream journey with a trophy. In edging Barcelona, Maccabi had three unlikely heroes to carry the scoring burden in Bluthenthal and Bynum with 21 points apiece and Halperin with 9 assists. Each came off the bench.
The Italians, with their attacking defense and overall versatility, will try to beat Maccabi in the transition -- while the Israelis will try and capitalize on Vujcic’s presence in the paint.
