One step away from the dream

To win two Euroleague titles in a row is a dream. To win the final game at OAKA arena versus over motivated Panathinaikos is twice a dream. CSKA was just one step away from it. The team lost by just two points 91-93. Right now the team has to pass the test on how it can stand the losses. The first Russian championship game after the Final Four is just 3 days away.

Panathinaikos (Greece) – CSKA: 93-91

Ettore Messina, CSKA head coach:

Congratulations to Panathinaikos, to their players, their coach and their crowd for the great win to take this season's Euroleauge. As you probably imagine, after preparing on Saturday to play the third-place game, the second-worst thing of playing the Final Four is doing this press conference after losing. We are not happy and we have to, let's say, help ourselves with the pride of having played a great season and maybe having played a great final, but not good enough. We fell too short in some crucial moments, when the foul trouble of some players forced us into some mistakes. Even if we kept playing, kept playing, kept playing, I felt we just were a little bit short in some situations. We played a very good season and a very good Euroleague season, and we will prepare to try to be back in Madrid in 2008.

I have the feeling that we'll go home knowing that we gave our best, played a great game, but that they had a little more. It's much worse when you go home and think about many things that could have happened and didn't.

[The score was in the 90s] because of the talent of the players and because I think there were a lot of foul calls, and I agree. I can question some of the calls, but that's part of my job as a coach. I accept this. I don't want a high level of contact, because in that case the quality level of the player disappears. We can question a call, but this is not the moment to dirty a win and a great game. It's finished. We keep everything like that for ourselves. But I agree with what they did. I agree with the meter they have had in this game. I can discuss, of course. Maybe I see one thing, the referee sees another. Compared to the semifinals, this is the way you have to call the game. That's it.

Let me just start with David Vanterpool. I said before the Final Four that David is a very important piece of our team. He may not score, but he's a leader, a great ball-hander, a good defensive guard and a tough person. As for the rest, we had a good game. Somebody played better, some worse than you expected. That's part of the game, but I prefer to value the team together, and we played good.