'It was like hell', Jasmin Repesa recalls 2004 EuroLeague Final Four in Tel Aviv / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: David Silverman/Getty Images Credit David Silverman/Getty Images

Coach Jasmin Repesa has inextricably linked his name to the Italian side of Fortitudo Bologna. In the early '00s, coach Repesa led Fortitudo Bologna to four straight trips to the Italian League finals, winning one of them, and guiding the team to the 2004 EuroLeague final against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

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Fortitudo ended up losing that game by 44 points, 118-74. The Italian side couldn't handle the intensity of Maccabi Tel Aviv and the energy of Tel Aviv's environment.

The Croatian head coach, after many years, returned to Fortitudo Bologna last summer, but, this time, his experience with the team was much shorter and ended up after just a few games.

In an interview with the Twitch channel 'Area 52', coach Repesa recalled the crazy atmosphere of that 2004 final against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

"It was impossible to win in that environment," coach Repesa said during the interview. "It was like hell. Maccabi also had a very good team with players like Anthony Parker, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Nikola Vujcic, and Maceo Baston, but the environment also played a big part".

"They amazingly started the game, they were shooting from downtown, even from 10 meters, making every single shot. Bluthenthal was unstoppable", coach Repesa explained. "At the end of the first half, I realized that it was impossible to win that game."

That Fortitudo Bologna team was filled with young talent, including Marco Belinelli, who was only 18 years old at that time, Stefano Mancinelli, and Slovenian power forward Erazem Lorbek.

"In the second half, I decided to give minutes to our younger players like Belinelli, Mancinelli, and Lorbek. For me, losing by 10, 20, or 30 points was the same thing. So I wanted to give our younger guys a chance, also to start thinking about our future".

"The following season, we won the Italian league, and our younger players they all had a key role in that season," Repesa continued. "Someone might think that I gave up on winning that final, but it's not true. That game was impossible to win in that environment and against such a strong team. We didn't have a chance".

Maccabi had reached that Final Four after winning a crazy game against Zalgiris Kaunas during the playoffs, with a last-second shot by Derrick Sharp that sent the game to overtime.

During the Tel Aviv Final Four, Maccabi had beaten CSKA Moscow in the semifinal, while Fortitudo Bologna had won the Italian derby against Montepaschi Siena.

Anthony Parker was the top scorer of the final with 21 points and was named MVP of the Final Four.

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