After securing their return to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four with a thrilling 85-84 victory over FC Barcelona two weeks ago, AS Monaco held their pre-departure press conference at Salle Gaston Medecin on Monday afternoon. Head coach Vassilis Spanoulis, French guard Matthew Strazel and General Manager of AS Oleksiy Yefimov addressed the media before the team flies to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Monaco’s previous Final Four appearance two years ago still weighs on the minds of players, with Spanoulis addressing how the team has grown since then.
“Everything in life is a lesson,” said Spanoulis, now in his first season as Monaco’s head coach. “No need to cry, it’s not the end of the world, it happens. Take your lesson and move on and don’t let it happen again. This is the best advice that I can give them.”
Strazel, who was part of that previous Final Four squad but in a different role, expressed confidence that the experience would serve the team well this time around.
“Even though it’s only my second Final Four, I feel like I have experience now and know what it takes to win that first game.” Strazel explained. “I’m excited but grounded, with a real desire to show how united we are as a team. All the challenges we’ve faced this season have brought us closer together, and we’ll arrive ready for this particular challenge.”
Semifinal against Olympiacos
Monaco faces Greek powerhouse Olympiacos in the semifinals, setting up an intriguing storyline with Spanoulis facing the club where he spent much of his legendary playing career.
“I spent a wonderful career there with great memories. The love from everybody there is undeniable, same goes both ways. And this will never change because it’s part of my life.” Spanoulis acknowledged. “Now I’m coach of Monaco and I represent Monaco. I will do everything for Monaco to win the game”.
The significance of having a French team in the Final Four was not lost on Spanoulis, who highlighted is as “a big accomplishment and big pride for French basketball”.
Strazel described the Euroleague as “the most prestigious competition in Europe,” noting growing comparisons between Euroleague and the NBA. “Obviously it’s a super prestigious competition, and winning it would be even more special,” the French guard said.
Key Players ready to step up
Spanoulis has particular praise for German centre Daniel Theis, who joined Monaco this season after seven years in the NBA.
“He’s a world champion, has European medals, and experience. It was a big accomplishment for the organisation to bring him here,” Spanoulis said. “Most of all, he’s a great character. If you ask his teammates, he’s a winner. He doesn’t care about trophies; he only cares about winning. Personally, I love this kind of players.”
The coach also highlighted the importance of having every player ready to contribute, pointing to Georgios Papagiannis’ crucial performance in game give against Barcelona despite having barely played in the previous months.
“He was ready , even though he didn’t play the last one or two months, he was ready,” Spanoulis noted. “This is what I want from my players. Everybody has to be ready. They are professionals and they have to be ready to step up at the right moment.”
For Spanoulis, a three-time Euroleague champion, handling pressure is simply part of being a professional.
“We practice with the players to perform well under pressure. You cannot be at this level and feel pressure,” he insisted. “Whatever happens, we have to be mentally ready to accept pressure, take these possibilities and move on.”
The Greek coach shared his personal philosophy: “Basketball and sports have a lot of failures and very few big wins—but big wins. So, all our lives we fight for these big wins.”
The Final Four in Abu Dhabi will see Monaco face Olympiacos in one semifinal, with Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce competing in the other. The team departs for Abu Dhabi on Tuesday with dreams of bringing the first Euroleague championship to the Principality.
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Photo credit: Kyriaki Topalidou, Monaco Life