In just three days we went from huge disappointment to near ecstasy.
The semifinals brought us the phantom of the mid-nineties Euro ball that used to include speculative offenses, extremely defensive-oriented squads and ridiculously low scores. Its a game plan that made sense for the weak Unicaja in order to try and overcome the big talent-differential they suffered compared to CSKA. Not that much to Tau, an offensive-oriented squad that seemed too conservative and mentally pressured against Panathinaikos when it came to looking for the basket. What Tiago Splitter told us following the game seems to perfectly confirm that.
It was interesting to see the great contrast exhibited by Taus coach Boza Maljkovic and Panathinakos Zeljko Obradovic in the press room right after the semifinal. After Tau only managed to score 53 points in the entire game, Maljkovic started his evaluation of the game stressing his teams defensive mistakes, and paid little attention to the offensive blackout they suffered, when actually it was their nice defense that kept Tau in the game until the last minutes (although never putting Panathinaikos victory in danger).
Boza landed in Tau just a couple of months ago, right when the team was delivering its best offensive shows, to provide the experience and defensive mentality supposedly required to win the Euroleague title. But it seems to have worked against Taus interests, as he hasnt been able to properly use that offensive power. Its a sort of defensive paranoia, still alive in many coaching minds, that often hurts the quality of the game. For example, Maljkovic kept Fred House 25 minutes in the game while going 0/11 from the field, just for defensive purposes.
Lets just remember that it was precisely Maljkovic who ignited that low-scoring era in the nineties when he led Limoges all the way to a Euroleague title over much more talented squads (Sabonis Real Madrid and Kukocs Benetton Treviso), using fierce defenses and very slow-paced game rhythm. It seems he still hasnt been able to adapt his coaching style to a team like Tau, that usually lives off its offense.
Meanwhile Obradovic, after coming away with a clear victory, only focused on his teams offensive struggles. His players were feeling too responsible, hesitating when it came to take decisions, playing too conservative which led them to commit too many mistakes. The game plan for the final (as he accurately told the press) was to lose the fear to a defeat, to stay aggressive in the offensive end and not pass up on scoring opportunities.
Said and done; Panathinaikos joined CSKA to bless us with a memorable Euroleague Final, proving that good defenses (the best ones in the Old Continent) are not always incompatible with fluid and high-scoring offenses when theres good enough basketball talent around. Throw in the passion, tension and the unbelievable atmosphere, and this was Euroleague basketball almost at its finest, truly an exhibition anybody in love with this sport should not miss, wherever they are from.