EuroLeague F4s are always special and unique in their way. This was my 6th Final Four in row on-site & accredited. I think I'm experienced enough to compare Final Four experiences since 2017 to today. So, I'll do.
Kaunas has been my dream EuroLeague F4 destination. Having been to the city and to the Zalgirio Arena multiple times, I really wanted EuroLeague to choose this beautiful city as the host. The city is "compact": arena is walk distance to the city's heart, suitable for Fan Zone, there are many cafe / bar / restaurants in the main pedestrian area, it's a Basketball City, the arena is (arguably) the best arena in Europe. So, why not? You've got many reasons to host the bests of European basketball in Kaunas.
But...
Unfortunately, this beautiful city (and also the country) is not very well connected to the rest of EuroLeague destinations. Forget about flying to Kaunas... Even Vilnius is not so easy to reach :/ So, flying has its time & financial costs. Then, the next issue which is even bigger: the lack of accommodation. Forget about staying at a hotel in Kaunas unless you are a player or media, even the VIPs had to stay in Vilnius. The capital is not far away but also not that close... it's more than an hour ride. So, if you are lucky like me you find a beautiful flat to rent. I don't see a solution to the above mentioned issues and take them as the price to pay to enjoy Final Four in the arguably most suitable city in European basketball.
Moving on...
Fan atmosphere: due to the issues related to logistics and that there was only one team with crazy fans travelling to Kaunas (kudos to Olympiacos fans), the atmosphere was not as great as in Istanbul or Belgrade... neither in the city nor in the arena. But Euroleague should be highly thankful to Greek fans for their efforts and being in Kaunas for their team. Despite visible number of empty seats, the atmosphere was decent.
By the way, as expected there were just a bunch of Monaco fans. But I liked seeing them there. They were cheerful :D And compared to size of the "country" the amount of fans were justified.
I just wish there were some more fans from Spain.... The fact that Spanish / Catalan fans not traveling outside of Spain is a bit disappointing. Obviously, it's much less disappointing than the fact that Spanish broadcaster sent only one reporter for the weekend despite having two teams out of four from Spain.
Pre-game & in-game show(s): I don't know what went wrong, probably financial cuts... but this part was sooo disappointing. Especially, the semi-finals night. Semis started as if we are there to watch a random regular season game. Unfortunately, it was a little bit "lame". The show for the final was ok but nowhere near last year's Belgrade version. Hoping to see more time & money invested in this part of the weekend.
Fan zone: Thumbs up here. Kaunas is a city that Fan Zone makes sense. In Istanbul, it was in a shopping mall... was weird. Belgrade in 2018, was cool as it was in Kalemegdan but due to the distance to the arena & my schedule as EBI's student, I don't have any memories. Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2019, terrible. Ok, it wasn't even ready the day of opening press conference... LOL. 2020... 2021 in Cologne without fans. 2022 in Belgrade, I don't even know where it was. If it happened... In Kaunas, as everything is walk distance, it made sense to have a fan zone and enjoy some time there. Good location. Well-organized. Some food & drinks stations. Approved.
Last but not the least, games: I think we've all watched better semi final games than the one between Olympiacos and Monaco. Especially, the first half was nowhere near the expectations. The way Kostas Papanikolaou turned the game in third quarter was the most memorable part of this game. El Clasico was interesting enough. I believe Nikola Mirotic's non-performance and the pressure on Saras Jasikevicius were the key factors on the loss. And finally, the Final had its drama as it deserved. Yes, Olympiacos leaded most of the game but when three players have the score load out of 12, it is not a great sign to win the title. At the end, Sergio Llull and his clutchness decided the game. Did Real Madrid "deserved" to win the title? Absolutely, no. But the fight and the decisions following the fight changed the faith of the season. And we all know: basketball is a sport that Real Madrid wins. Last but not the least, kudos to Edy Tavares for a great season overall. But for me, MVP of the Final Four was Sergio Rodriguez.
Overall... Good experience, luckily perfect weather for the Final Four. I'd love to see another Final Four here but only if at least two of the teams participating can bring at least 2000 fans... Final Fours deserve to be played in fully packed arenas.
Thank you Kaunas for the good memories. Looking forward to 2024 Berlin edition!
Cheers,
Begum
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