No, OAKA has not cheated on itself. She spurred Panathinaikos with wild love, like a whip, and tried to restrain CSKA with burning hatred. Applause was given by journalists from different countries from the press conference of Ettore Messina, although the coach honestly admitted: in such minutes, the worst part compared to answering questions is only the process of preparing for the match for third place.
To win at this level, you need to jump above your head. But the army team could not surpass themselves in the fight against the fantastically equipped and clearly debugged team of Zhelko Obradovic. To all, as Trajan Langdon later notes, Muscovites were not allowed to demonstrate their usual defensive stiffness by quickly loading leaders with fouls. “As soon as we stepped forward in the third quarter, Langdon and Smodis got a fourth foul,” Messina recalled. “I had to put them on a bench, and those who stayed on the site carried an extra load, since there was basically no one to change them.”
The CSKA coach realized quite early the seriousness of the problem looming over the team. Therefore, Anton Ponkrashov and Zakhar Pashutin, sometimes not even noted in the protocol, this time appeared on the site in the second quarter. True, they did not have time to notice anything. Anton was completely afraid to once again hit the ball on the floor, focusing too much on the custody of Milos Vujanic, who was entrusted to him.
But another reservist, whose value was marked on the eve of the title MVP of the season, worked wonders. At first it seemed that Theo Papaloukas was inferior in stellar rivalry to his Greek teammate Dimitris Diamantidis. The best defending player in Europe, in addition to basic duties, also fell into the ring perfectly, having realized all four throws. But Papaloukas quickly returned all attention to himself. Not responding to the deafening rumble (it always rattled when the former representative of Olympiacos, hated by the Pao fans, received the ball) and insulting chanting songs (no one dared to translate their meaning to the Sport Today correspondent, citing either inattention or unwillingness touch taboo vocabulary), Theo led the team behind him. His playmaking qualities entered into perfect balance with the desire to attack himself - the defender made 9 of 10 shots, therefore it is not surprising that Messina at the press conference immediately agreed with the opinion that it was Papaloukas who was the real MVP of the final. And Theo had every right to the tears of disappointment that surged after the final whistle.
On this day, happiness was cruelly cruel over the army team. It then smiled at Van den Spiegel block shots, begged out by technical fouls and the hopeful Langdon “trulniks”. That suddenly turned her back, with pleasure substituting the ring under the balls of Hatsivretas and for the last time “breaking” the game in the match of Tomashevich. And for dessert she presented a “present” in the face of Batista, who sat on a bench during Tomashevich’s “reign”. It was Big Mike who chalked up the key ball, abandoned about half a minute before the siren.
At this moment, on the fan stand, as always beautifully and harmoniously singing in honor of her beloved club, “roses” appeared from where, becoming another beautiful element of a fascinating ritual. But this was no longer our holiday.
Nikolai TSYNKEVICH, Athens