It all comes down to this. La Decima vs La Zocima. Real Madrid vs Fenerbahce. Master vs Pupil (again). The 2015 champions take on the 2017 champions in Belgrade to decide who emerges victorious and claims the title of champions of Euroleague. Emmet Ryan breaks down the action
The story has been well told by now. Real Madrid are going for their 10th Euroleague title, La Decima. Fenerbahce coach Zeljko Obradovic for his 10th, La Zocima. The historic landmarks will be at the back of everyone’s mind until the final horn. These two teams are hungry to cement what they are now, what these groups of players have built in their time, to prove who is the best team in Europe.
Fenerbahce come in as the team with all the consistency. A tremendously reliable regular season was followed by a business-like performance in their 3-1 playoff win over Baskonia. Then, against Zalgiris, they stood tall when faced with a team playing with tremendous bravery. Fenerbahce hit Zalgiris with everything they had in a bruising encounter, yet the team in green never wilted. It took a fantastic spell by Bobby Dixon aka Ali Muhammed to ensure a place in a third straight title game for the defending champions.
Real are the guys who had to claw to get to this point. Ravaged with injuries all year, they missed out on home court on the last day of the regular season and drew a tough playoff assignment against Panathinaikos. There may be no tougher gym to go to in basketball than the OAKA and Los Blancos found out the hard way as they got pummeled in Game 1. Then the comeback came as they ground out a W in Game 2 before, bolstered by a returning Sergio Llull, they completed the reverse sweep at home. Against CSKA on Friday night, they looked lost in the first quarter before wholly dominating the next three to book their place in Sunday’s decider.
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Fener will look to their inside strength. Jan Vesely, Jason Thompson, Nicolo Melli, Nikola Kalinic, and Ahmet Duvieroglu are all going to have important roles in this one. They need to hurt Gustavo Ayon and Edy Tavares early. They need to tire out Felipe Reyes, they need to bring pressure on Trey Thompkins, and they surely need to test the strength of Anthony Randolph.
That front court battle should favour the bulkier Istanbul side but Real have their options. The Barista Bros of Jaycee Carroll and Fabien Causeur can bombard from the elbows. Luka Doncic is, well, Luka Doncic, while Jeffrey Taylor brings a defensive bit in the back court. Then there’s Llull, who has more motivation than most for this one. He fought like a lion as Real fell to Fener at the semi final stage a year ago and then lost most of this season. In reduced minutes on Friday night, he came big for Real against CSKA Moscow. Now, he’s got a shot at the team he wants to beat up the most.
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Across the floor, Brad Wanamaker will be out to be a star in this final after his long road through Europe to get to this moment. Dixon did his part on Friday but he wants to show why he’s known as Big Game Bobby one more time. It was the freewheeling style of the under-sized guard that got Fener back in the fight in the 2016 final. He played his part a year ago too. Now he wants to show out for his team mates. Add to that the reliability of Kostas Sloukas and the ever improving Marko Guduric, and this is quite the battle at hand.
The Barista Bros are going to have a huge say in this one. If they and Thompkins can keep the outside game going, then Fener won’t be able to bully Real the way they want on the inside. Reyes however needs to be managed right, if he plays stints that are too long it’s at a cost to his side. When he’s paced right, King Felipe is downright regal.
Wanamaker is going to get his shots here but the real question will be where the extra support comes from. Gigi Datome did some tremendous work on both ends on Friday and he needs a repeat performance in this one. While the spotlight will be on Doncic, the X factor for this corner is Llull. He thrives under pressure and knows this is an opportunity for him to cap his comeback run.
The arena may be neutral but this will be a home game for Fenerbahce. The crowd will be clad in blue and yellow, roaring on their men. For one night, Belgrade becomes West Istanbul. That’s the hostility facing Real Madrid. Laso won a title under Obradovic, now he must lead a side against his old mentor and try to claim his second championship as a head coach.
For all the pressure, all the woes, and all the heat they will face, I’m going with the men in white.
Prediction: Real Madrid
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