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May 1:



Panathinaikos-Olympiacos

CSKA - Barcelona/TAU



May 3:



3rd place game

Final

Panathinaikos stats concerning the number of Final Four participation (since the Final Four format establishment in 1988)



Panathinaikos: 8



Zeljko Obradovic: 10

Frangiskos Alvertis: 8

Sarunas Jasikevicius: 3

Nikos Hatzivrettas: 3

Dimitris Diamantidis: 2

Michael Batiste: 2

Antonis Fotsis: 2

Kostas Tsartsaris: 2

CSKA stats concerning the number of Final Four participation (since the Final Four format establishment in 1988)



CSKA Moscow: 8



Ettore Messina: 7 (+ 2001 Final Series)



JR Holden: 7

Matjaz Smodis: 5 (+ 2001 Final Series)

Trajan Langdon: 4

Viktor Khryapa: 3

Ramunas Siskauskas: 2

Zoran Planinic: 2

Nikos Zisis: 1

Erazem Lorbek: 1

Alexey Shved: 1

Terence Morris: 1

Olympiacos stats concerning the number of Final Four participation (since the Final Four format establishment in 1988)



Panayiotis Yannakis: 0



Theodoros Papaloukas: 6

Nikola Vujcic: 4

Yotam Halperin: 4

German Police [url="http://http"]getting ready[/url] for the Final Four. <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

Interesting Euroleague Final Four facts:



<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.talkbasket.net/content/view/869/63/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">[url="http://www.talkbasket.net/content/view/869/63/"]http://www.talkbasket.net/content/view/869/63/[/url]</a><!-- m -->

Quote:The four teams of the Euroleague Final Four are expected in Berlin any moment now and TalkBasket did some research to present some interesting and historical facts about the four finalists.



Let’s start with the defending champions CSKA Moscow who are attending the Final Four for the 7th time in a row, being the only team having achieved this, thus far. Teo Papaloukas is also attending his 7th Final Four in a row, but this time playing for the Reds of Olympiacos whereas he was playing for the Russian Red Army team in the previous six appearances.



But it is not all about participating but also going all the way and winning the Euroleague title. And here come the two coaches that will take part in yet another Final Four. Zeljko Obradovic is the winningest coach of the Final Four history having grabbed six Euroleague titles with four different clubs, three of them with his current club, Panathinaikos Athens. On the other hand Ettore Messina of CSKA Moscow is the only coach that has conquered Europe multiple times with two different teams, twice with Virtus Bologna in 1998 and 2001 and twice with CSKA Moscow in 2006 and 2008. In fact Messina will be participating in the 8th Final Four in his career and did you know that he has managed to reach the Final in all his seven previous appearances? Definitely a unique achievement.



Panathinaikos has the highest percentage of success in Final Four Finals, winning the four out of the five Finals they have taken part in, the only loss being to Maccabi Tel Aviv back in 2001. But not all Final Four stories have a happy ending, for example Barcelona will play in their 10th Final Four, tying Macabi’s record for the most Final Four appearances, yet they have lost eight out of their nine previous appearances bringing the title home just in 2003 with Euroleague legends Dejan Bodiroga and Sarunas Jasikevicius being the two super-stars in an already rich roster.



Talking of Sarunas Jasikevicius it is worth to mention that in case that Panathinaikos lifts the trophy the Lithuanian star will become the first player, who will have managed to win the trophy with three different teams, after winning it with Barcelona in 2003 as mentioned before and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the next two seasons, 2004 and 2005 alongside David Andersen of Barcelona who has won the title with Virtus Bologna in 2001 and twice with CSKA Moscow in 2006 and 2008. Only one of them will have the chance to finish this untypical fight victorious. And while Jasikevicius has a 100% percentage in winning Final Fours in which he took part winning the title in all his three appearances the same doesn’t apply for Panathinaikos’ captain Fragiskos Alvertis. And how could it be any different when this will be his 9th overall Final Four, with his 1st appearance being back in 1994, a whole fifteen years back! He has however won more titles than his teammate Saras winning a total of four titles, so far, being the winningest player attending the 2009 Final Four in Berlin. Another interesting fact is that Alvertis will finish his Final Four career like he started it, facing arch rivals Olympiacos like back in 1994.



Olympiacos will be back in a Final Four after a decade of oblivion, thanks to experience gathered by newly added players Teo Papaloukas, Nikola Vujcic and Yotam Halperin who have a combined fourteen appearances in Final Fours, in fact they are the only Olympiacos’ squad members who have been to a Final Four. Olympiacos is being led by their legendary coach Panayiotis Yannakis who will have managed something really unique if Olympiacos goes all the way to win the title. Not only will he win the Euroleague title both as a coach and as a player, he will have done so winning the title with the two Greek arch-rivals, Panathinaikos and Olympiakos. Not to mention that he has won the Eurobasket both as a player and as a coach. A true symbol of Greek basketball. Both Olympiacos and Yannakis have won the Final Four just once in four appearances, amazingly both against Barcelona in two consecutive years, Yannakis in 1996 (with Panathinaikos as a player) and Olympiacos in 1997.



Barcelona have written their own history in the Euroleague Final Four books throughout the years and will be back to a Final Four for the first time since 2006. Interestingly enough they play in a Final Four every three years during the current decade. 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2009 that is. This year they are back due to some great additions like David Andersen and the return of their natural captain, La Bomba Navarro who is the only player in their roster at the moment who has won the Euroleague title with Barcelona’s colours. And yet for the third consecutive time they will face CSKA Moscow in their Final Four semi final appearance. Another great Barcelona guard, Gianluca Basile will this time face former teammates Matjaz Smodis and Erazem Lorbek of CSKA Moscow after losing the 2004 title game with Fortitudo Bologna against Maccabi Tel Aviv. At least this time some of them will go home happy.



Stay tuned for Part II as we will present more fascinating Final Four facts soon!

A great Berlin guide made by TalkBasket reporter who s in Berlin now

Quote:Two of TalkBasket.net reporters are already in Berlin and are presenting Euroleague fans who will be attending the Final Four a guide to the host city. Where to eat, where to drink, shop or even shoot some hoops. We are assuming that all the attendants have already booked a place to stay and we will not cover accommodation.



Tip: in order to see the place on the map, click on the number in the square brackets.



WHERE TO EAT



There are endless restaurants, stands and snack bars throughout the city offering everything from kebabs (and other Turkish specialties) to French fries, pizza, currywurst (German sausage), grilled chicken etc. Here are a few tested places that offer the correct balance of quality and price.



- Max und Moritz[1]. Restaurant serving German specialties like schnitzels, sausages, sauerkraut etc. Generous portions at a very reasonable price. Oranienstrasse 162, 10 969 Berlin 36 (Kreuzberg)

- Hühner Haus[2]. Right at the entrance of Görlitzer Park on the Skalitzerstrasse. Serves grilled chicken.

- Akcaabat Imbiss[3]. Offers burgers in a unique style and fried fish. The meat is very good. Wrangelstrasse 43

- Curry 36[4]. Serves currywurst (sausage in sauce).

Mehringdamm 36, 10961 Berlin

- Konnopke's Imbiss[5]. Currywurst and more. One of the oldest.

Schönhauser Allee 44a, 10435 Berlin

- Pizza a Pezzi[6]. Pizza slices with fresh ingredients.

Oranienstrasse 176, 10999 Kreuzberg, Berlin

- Burgeramt[7]. As the names says: Burgers.

Krossener Str. 22, Boxhagener Platz, 10245 Berlin







WHERE TO DRINK AND PARTY



There are quite a few party districts in Berlin. Eberswalderstrasse and surroundings in Prenzlauer Berg, Schlesischestrasse and Oranienstrasse as well as the Bergmann Kiez in Kreuzberg and Simon Dach Strasse and Revaler Strasse in Friedrichshain being some of them. Select according to partying type and music taste.



- Club der Visionaere[8]. Techno and chill bar on a canal partially on floating platforms.

Am Flutgraben 1, 12435 Berlin

- Privat Club[9]. Alternative Rock basement club.

Pücklerstrasse 34, 10997 Berlin

- Watergate[10]. Supposedly one of the best techno clubs in Europe. Suggested if you're into the scene.

Falckensteinstr 49, 10997 Berlin X-berg

- Dr Pong[11]. It's a ping-pong bar!! Customers gather around a table and play the game while drinking.

Eberswalder Strasse 21, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin

- Tresspassers2[12]. Offers numerous types of vodka.

Fehrbelliner Str. 94 Ecke Christinenstr. (am Teutoburger Platz),

10119 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg

- King Kong Klub[13]. Alternative bar/ club.

Brunnenstrasse173, 10119 Berlin Mitte

- Ankerklause[14]. Nice bar on a canal.

Kottbusser Damm 104, 10967 Berlin



WHERE TO PLAY BASKETBALL



You can find basketball courts all over Berlin, but most of them feature silly plastic rims that kind of alters the whole game. Some decent courts you can find are in YAAM club[15] and in the park surrounding the Max Schmeling Halle[16] (Alba Berlin's old home arena)







SIGHTSEEING



As you know Berlin has plenty of attractions to offer due to its rich and diverse history suitable just about every taste. We couldn't list everything here even if we wanted to so we will propose a couple of walks and give you links to Berlin tourist services. You can begin your walk by going to Alexanderplatz[17] ubahn station. You can't miss the gigantic TV Tower[18] right on the square. The tower also features a restaurant that can be accessed via an elevator and offers a fantastic view of many miles.



Continue your walk visiting the City Hall[19] and the Neptune Fountain[20] . A few meters further lays the Museum Island[21] featuring the Pergamon museum, the New and the Old Museums, the Berliner Dom and others. You will probably find enough things to do to spend a couple of hours there. Once done, just continue by walking down the Unter den Linden Street[22] , that offers many historical buildings, all the way down to the famous Brandenburger Tor[23] , Berlin's best-known attraction. From there the huge Tiergarten Park[24] lies on your left hand, the Parliament[25] on your right and the Siegessäule[26] straight ahead.



Walking down the road on your left will get you to the Potsdammer Platz[27] that features some impressive modern architecture like the Sony Centre and the DB tower. Hop in the metro headed to Berlin Zoo station[28]. There you will find the Gedächtnis Kirche[29] - a bombed church during the World War II that was left it half ruined to remind the terror of the war. You can also visit the Berliner Zoo[30] and Aquarium just a few meters from there. Walk up and down the Ku'damm Street[31], Berlin's most prominent shopping street right up to the Wittenberg Platz station[32] where you will find one of Europe's biggest and most impressive malls the KaDeWe[33]. Make sure to visit the delicatessen department on the top floor.



For more information on sights that the city offers please check the following websites.



http://www.berlin.de http://www.bvg.de http://www.citytourcard.de



TRANSPORT



The best part of Berlin. You can get just about everywhere with the Metro, busses, trams, bikes or even ferries! On the weekend metro runs 24 hours, and during the weekdays there are numerous night busses that will get you where you want. Depending on the length of your stay you can get the appropriate ticket. For more info check here http://www.bvg.de/index.php/en/Bvg/Index...s+Overview



There are also Rent-a-Bike services, or for spontaneous bikers pick up one of the DB bikes that are to find in random parts of the city and pay using your mobile phone.



SHOPPING



Depending on taste there are various shopping districts. The afore mentioned Ku'Damm street near Berlin Zoo offers many malls and flagship stores as does the area around Alexanderplatz and Weinmeisterstrasse[34] up to Schönhauser allee[35] in Prenzlauer Berg. In Friedrichshain you can find many smaller shops and the Oranienstrasse in Kreuzberg is also more than a visit's worth (on May 1st it is the centre of demonstrations though). A couple of flea markets are also fun like the one on Boxhagener Platz[36] in Friedrichshain and the one in Mauer Park near the Max Schmeling Halle. Both on Sunday.



Well, we hope to see as many of you we can in Berlin and enjoy your stay in this wonderful city!

You can also be proud of TalkBasket's own basketball team as they trashed some Germans today in a pick up game in Berlin <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/crazy.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

Great job on the articles guys!



Can't wait for the Final Four already. Here are my predictions for the semis:



CSKA Moscow vs Barcelona

Olympiacos vs Panathinaikos



CSKA will control the game for the most part. My predicted score: 88-77



As for the Greeks, it'll be a tough game...Olympiacos will start off slow, the first quarter could be very grueling for both teams, but eventually they will break away from Pao and win the game. Predicted score: 78-72

Congrat's to PAO and CSKA, but the real winner of the semi-finals is Lithuania. in the first game Siskauskas was cold as ice and won the game for CSKA with a great second-half. and in the second game Saras was great in the last quarter and the clutch-time. two really great games we saw today, games that really can make us proud of European basketball, not all the time the game's were in high quality- but the atmosphere and the anxiety in the end of both games was great. both game were in a great pace and I just hope that the Final will be at leat that great...

Indeed we saw two great games yesterday. Both being decided in the final minute. I expected CSKA and PAO to come through and I was right about that. So we will see the replay of 2007 Euroleague Final.



And of course it was great to see Saras and Siska do what they did last night <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

Two very fun games. I was surprised at Barcelona's firepower vs CSKA, at least in the beginning of the game. However, CSKA won as expected. PAO vs OLY was incredible...the crowd added a lot. I haven't seen Sarunas play that well since his Maccabi days. Pekovic was pretty amazing as well...unstoppable!



Of course, can't forget to mention Siskauskas and Andersen.

Some videos from the semi-finals



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Panathinaikos leads 48-28 at the halftime. There's still plenty of time left but I can't see CSKA coming to back and winning this. Messina can't find the key to a win against Obradovic, that's for sure. CSKA can't find a player who could step up and turn the game around.



I expected a closer final though.

Yeah what a blowout. I'm sure Messina didn't expect this and that his team is playing real bad. PAO is dominating as they wish, 3-pointers falling, inside game working, defense at its best. But there's still much game left, perhaps CSKA will be able to recover.

Panatinaikos is new champion of Europe.Great game.Nba can only watch.They had only dream this extra final.And for that is the best Euroleague in the world.

Barça has lost the final 4, i was sad at friday night. But then i realise that barça has played a very good euroleague and i have to be happy for that. it is more important to enjoy every game and lost the final than to get bored and win it. Barça lost a very tie final 4, for points behind cska, that lost the final 2 points behind pana. Here is important to me to say that barça won pana at home and away very easy. Barça won at Tel aviv, at Baskonia and Athens, and won against Madrid, Siena, maccabi, Tau and Panathinaikos at home.

Yes we did not won but at least we played all the games, include de 5 of playoff and the 2 of final 4. I have enjoied this euroleague.

Welcome to the forum nrk. Please stick around. Indeed Barca had a very good season. I wanted to them in the final.



I am not sure if you noticed or not but after the final whistle Saras put his hands on his head and looked surprised or even shocked. Lithuanian reporter asked him about that in the locker room. Saras said that some people from PAO organisation told him things that shouldn't be told in such moments. He added that there were problems in the team behind the scene and that it was visible in the second quarter. Maybe someone could give more info on this.



In the end he said that such things will not ruin his celebrations and that he will burn half of Athens during celebrations.

Quote:Saras said that some people from PAO organisation told him things that shouldn't be told in such moments

WOW, maybe Saras is trying to prepare the ground for his leaving, it is long rumored that Saras would like to play in Barça...

[quote name='gambit' post='15712' date='May 4 2009, 10:15 PM']WOW, maybe Saras is trying to prepare the ground for his leaving, it is long rumored that Saras would like to play in Barça...[/quote]

That could be the case. I'd like to know what was the reason of all that. Saras is not very happy with his playing time. He feels he can play more. Since he is not getting younger it might be too late for him to play a serious role in a team. So I totally understand his wish to be a more important player on the roster.

Drew Nicholas, who won the NCAA title with Maryland in 2002, became the fourth player to win both the NCAA and Euroleague title following Tyus Edney and Jiri Zidek (both UCLA 1995, Zalgiris 1999) and Tony Delk (Kentucky 1996, Panathinaikos 2007).



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