Sasa Obradovic touches on Olympiacos' experience, pays tribute to Printezis / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AS Monaco-Direction de la Communcation Credit AS Monaco-Direction de la Communcation

At the beginning of the season, AS Monaco were widely considered a longshot for the EuroLeague playoffs. When the Russian teams were left out of the competition, the newcomers saw four of their wins go to waste, but at the same time, three of their main competitors were knocked out.

Player of the Game EFF 24 Shaquielle McKissic Points 18 Accuracy 6-7 Rebounds 2 Assists 2

Despite not concluding what would or could have been an already miraculous season, Monaco once again stood tall at the Peace and Friendship Stadium, threatening hosts Olympiacos Piraeus with a painful elimination.

At the buzzer - or, as it turned out, a few seconds before that- the Greeks had started partying for their return to the Final Four after five years of drought.

However, as coach Sasa Obradovic pointed out in the post-game presser, this is anything but the end of the world for Monaco.

"Congrats to Olympiacos. They deserved to go to the Final Four. Not only because of this game, but because they're a group of people who invest time and patience to make this program go to the end," the Serbian coach said.

Obradovic compared the three-time EuroLeague champs and the 2021 EuroCup winners, saying that Monaco are at the beginning of building something.

"We started pretty well with this season and presented ourselves in an amazing way," Obradovic continued.

"We're going to learn from this. At the end of the game, guys who know how to play, like Sloukas, used their experience as an advantage to win it. This is the experience that we need. I'm really proud of my guys because they had a great game today."

Breaking down what went south for Monaco, Obradovic pointed to the last quarter, when his team didn't play the way it was supposed to.

"We didn't find the right spots on offense and didn't go to the free-throw line. That makes the difference, which we lacked," he said.

It has been a unique ride for Monaco, and Obradovic, who replaced Zvezdan Mitrovic in December 2021, takes a lot of credit for it, even though the squad wasn't built by him.

Georgios Printezis

Team:Olympiakos PiraeusPosition:PFAge:37Height:205 cmWeight:107 kgBirth place:GreeceProfileNewsStatistics

"I'm not arrogant, but when I came, there were many doubts and rumors about letting some players go," he said.

"It was a bit chaotic in terms of our expectations. Since I arrived, I have had full support. You could see that in our games. I can only be happy with what we did."

Ahead of the Final Four, Obradovic thinks that everyone has equal chances.

"The best teams are there. So, both pairs have 50-50 chances," he noted.

Closing his postgame statement, the Serbian specialist referred to Olympiacos' captain, Giorgos Printezis, who is rumored to retire at the end of the season.

Of course, Printezis himself has meticulously avoided any such comment until now, but the chances are that next season, he will be sitting next to Vassilis Spanoulis at the Reds' home games.

Obradovic is aware of that and, despite not being asked about it, paid Printezis his respects.

"I know that one of the greatest Greek players will quit basketball. I'm talking about Printezis. I want to say that he was a great champion. It was always a pleasure to see him representing himself and the club in the best possible way. I wish him all the best in the future," he concluded.

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