2010-11Final Four3RD PLACE GAME
Real Madrid 62
Montepaschi Siena 80
May 08, 2011 CET: 13:30
Local time: 13:30 PALAU SANT JORDI
Ksistof Lavrinovic - Montepaschi Siena - Final Four Barcelona 2011

Montepaschi Siena completed an outstanding season by beating Real Madrid 62-80

Montepaschi Siena completed an outstanding Turkish Airlines Euroleague season by beating Real Madrid 62-80 on Sunday in the Third-Place Game at the 2011 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain. Ksistof Lavrinovic scored 17 points to pace the Italian champs in a game they controlled from start to finish. An early 0-10 lead put Siena in the drivers’ seat and although Madrid never quit, riding a standout showing from Sergio Llull, Montepaschi never faltered. David Moss added 11 points, Bo McCalebb scored 10 and Milovan Rakovic posted 8 points and 11 rebounds for the victors. Llull scored 23 and Felipe Reyes and Ante Tomic added 8 points apiece for Madrid.

Both teams tried to set up an inside presence early, with Tomic and Rakovic going head-to-head, but neither big man was particularly effective at the start and Siena got its first two baskets on penetration layups by Marko Jaric and Malik Hairston. baseline jumper from Moss stretched the run to 2-6, as Madrid committed 3 early turnovers and head coach Emanuele Molin burned a timeout. Siena kept the defensive screws tight on the Whites’ halfcourt offensive sets and upped the transition game, with Rakovic finally getting on the scoreboard with a close-ranger and Lavrinovic extending the difference to 2-12. With D’Or Fischer in the game, Madrid gained some muscle inside and the big man scored on a put-back and Llull followed with a drive to the basket. With improved ball movement on offense and Nikola Mirotic joining forces with Fischer in the paint, Madrid was able to close the quarter with some momentum as Llull drained a triple and the 10-minute mark came with a reduced 11-19 advantage for Siena.

Tomic further narrowed the gap early in the second quarter, but McCalebb used his speed to race downcourt for a layup. Llull got 2 points back for Madrid from the line. Kaukenas added a jumper to keep Siena firmly ahead. Rakovic worked inside with a nice spin move to pump the lead back to double figures. Tomic showed tough with a floater only to see a Nikos Zisis triple make it 17-28 midway through the quarter. Mirotic raced donwcourt for a quick counter layup, but Siena remained fully in control. Reyes from the free throw line and Tomic thanks to a great dish from Reyes carried Madrid back within 5. A Siena timeout didn’t change much as Carlos Suarez added a free throw to the Madrid run before Moss finally responded with a bank shot. Zisis added foul shots. A fresh Mirza Begic came in for his first points of the weekend and Mirotic tacked on free throws to make it 28-32. Andrea Michelori and Llull traded baskets. Then Lavrinovic muscled his way inside for a score only to see Begic connect on a short jumper that made it 32-36 at halftime.

After Suarez missed an open three that would have narrowed the gap to a single point, Rakovic barreled through the Madrid defense for a basket-plus-foul. Llull came through from downtown and on the next possession got to the line to get Madrid to 37-40. Moss started heating up for Siena and drained a triple after which Lavrinovic scored to give Siena space. Fischer connected on a jumper but after Kaukenas responded, Moss finished in the paint and drew a foul, allowing him to lift Siena to 39-49. McCalebb padded the lead with a pair of layups in transition, forcing Madrid to use a timeout before the game slipped away. Llull came to the rescue with a three-pointer and then a penetration for a three-point play. Lavrinovic though had 4 free throws in the final minute of the quarter to keep Siena in control at 45-57.

Novica Velickovic came on for his first appearance of the Final Four and sank a pair of free throws. Reyes kept trying his best for the Whites, who closed to 53-61 on a basket in the low post by Tomic. Marco Carraretto fired back with a long jumper and a Rakovic steal led to a Zisis layup that put Siena firmly in control at 53-68. Another basket by Llull was not enough as an unsportsmanlike foul by Reyes for grabbing Lavrinovic from behind led to 2 successful free throws. Madrid kept at it with Llull getting a point at the line and Pablo Prigioni feeding Velickovic for a score, but time was running out. Lavrinovic free throws followed at the other end by Tomas Ress rising to reject Velickovic at the rim practically sealed the outcome with just under two minutes remaining. An unsportsmanlike foul committed by Llull erased any doubt as Kaukenas converted free throws and Zisis a jumper to wrap up the victory and a third-place finish to an outstanding Turkish Airlines Euroleague season for Montepaschi Siena.

Sunday, May 8, 2011
Frankie Sachs, Euroleague.net, Barcelona
No results found.
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS; BOLTAUZER, MATEJ; VIATOR, EDDIE
Attendance: 13000 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
Real Madrid11211317
Montepaschi Siena19172123
End of Quarter1234
Real Madrid11324562
Montepaschi Siena19365780
Real Madrid
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 TOMIC, ANTE 23:17 8 4/8       7 7 2 1 4     2 1 9
5 PRIGIONI, PABLO 27:15 1   0/5 1/2 1 2 3 5   1     3 2 1
8 SUAREZ, CARLOS 19:44 1 0/2   1/2 1 4 5     1   1 2 5 4
9 REYES, FELIPE 15:08 8 3/3   2/2 1 2 3 1 1 4     5 4 8
12 MIROTIC, NIKOLA 24:52 6 2/4 0/1 2/2   6 6 2 1   1   2 1 12
13 RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO 12:45   0/4           1   1   1 3   -8
14 VELICKOVIC, NOVICA 10:00 7 2/5   3/4 1   1 1   2   1 2 3 3
16 BEGIC, MIRZA 2:59 4 2/2       1 1               5
20 VIDAL, SERGI DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
21 FISCHER, DOR 13:40 4 2/3     2 1 3     1     4   1
23 LLULL, SERGIO 35:25 23 4/5 3/7 6/7 2 2 4 2   2     4 6 23
24 TUCKER, CLAY 14:55   0/2 0/2     2 2 1   3     1 1 -4
Team             2 2               2
Totals 200:00 62 19/38 3/15 15/19 8 29 37 15 3 19 1 3 28 23 56
        50% 20% 78.9%
Head coach: MOLIN, EMANUELE
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Montepaschi Siena
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 MCCALEBB, BO 15:20 10 3/3   4/4 1   1   1 1       4 15
6 ZISIS, NIKOS 13:14 9 2/2 1/3 2/2         1 2     2 4 8
7 HAIRSTON, MALIK 18:47 4 1/5   2/2   1 1 1   1 1 1 1 1 1
9 CARRARETTO, MARCO 16:13 5 1/1 1/3     1 1 1         3   2
11 RAKOVIC, MILOVAN 27:19 8 4/10   0/1 6 5 11   2 2 1   1 1 13
12 LAVRINOVIC, KSISTOF 31:21 17 3/4 0/2 11/13   5 5 4   1     2 7 25
13 KAUKENAS, RIMANTAS 18:51 8 3/8 0/2 2/2 1 1 2           5 4 2
14 RESS, TOMAS 16:40 4 1/4   2/2   3 3 1 1   1   1 1 7
15 MICHELORI, ANDREA 4:40 2 1/1             1 1     2    
19 JARIC, MARKO 11:26 2 1/5 0/1   1 4 5 1 2       2 1 4
21 ARADORI, PIETRO 2:41               1         1    
34 MOSS, DAVID 23:28 11 4/7 1/1 0/1   1 1 2 1 1     3 5 12
Team             1 1               1
Totals 200:00 80 24/50 3/12 23/27 9 22 31 11 9 9 3 1 23 28 90
        48% 25% 85.2%
Head coach: PIANIGIANI, SIMONE

Head Coaches

MOLIN, EMANUELE
Real Madrid
"First of all, I want to say that I am sorry for the ugly image that we gave on the court. I feel sorry for the club and our fans, who came here with the hope to see a team able to be loyal to its playing style and give them something more out there. It is everyone's responsibility, starting with me. It was a very complicated game for us, as we had to forget about the semifinal in 24 hours. A lot of our young players got here for the first time with a lot of hope but without knowing what happens here. It has been hard for us and bouncing back has been very difficult. There was a moment in the second quarter in which we managed to play aggressive and return to the game, but when Montepaschi brought their starters back in the game, we were not able to control the rebounds, which was the key to Siena's lead in the third quarter. We lost our confidence after losing the semifinals, but it is difficult to ask that of my players."

"I did not say that Madrid was not ready for the Final Four. But we were not able to give a good impression. There are a lot of different reasons and we will evaluate them. I think that we are very proud of being here. Like we said before the semifinals, everyone thinks we will get something out of this experience. We will analyze this all in the next days. We were not able to play a difficuly game in the semifinals and bounce back for this second game. Everyone, starting with me, arrived here thinking they are ready."

"I cannot say I have a good feeling, I can't say it. It is clear what happened, we saw it on the court. This is my second time in the third place game and I have also lost Euroleague finals. When you lose here, you get back home exhausted. We had the strength to be here and that is the first step. There are things we have to improve."
PIANIGIANI, SIMONE
Montepaschi Siena
"We have played another good game. All the players that went out there managed to beat an opponent with a higher budget. We played well and won the Third Place game. This is our last Euroleague game this season and I would like to thank our people in Siena, our fans, who made an effort to be here and even came without tickets. Some other people stayed at home but wished they were here. Siena fans are passionate about basketball. I have to thank my players for making it to the Final Four in an extraordinary Euroleague season. We had a lot of injuries in difficult moments but talking to experts in Italy and Europe, I had the chance to check that nobody expected us to be in the Final Four with so many big teams in Europe. I want to thank the club -- Montepaschi and Siena have a special place in basketball. I am sorry, because to turn this story into a fantastic one, we should have played the final. Panathinaikos and Maccabi deserve to be there but it would have been great to be there and have the chance to win the title -- all the other three teams had won many times. I would to thank the Euroleague because we saw an extraordinary event, a special one for basketball."

"Like I said, we are proud of being here and the way we played in the Final Four. There are great teams in the Euroleague and the competition is better -- more important and fascinating every season. European basketball has changed a lot in the last 7-8 years, we see a lot of teams from big cities, backed by big investments and being here makes us proud. I want to thank everyone who makes Siena a magical place to play at this level. These are special days and thanks to the Euroleague, we enjoyed two great teams, playing styles, coaching staffs. We will try to compete at this level next year. This is an important project and we will try again next season.We have been here four times as an outsider, like against Panathinaikos yesterday. They have the best players in Europe and won a lot of times. We are proud and some shots should have gone in. We are not that far away -- we could have made it this time. We went to overtime once, down to one shot another time, our approach to the game was good but details were not in our favor."

Players

LLULL, SERGIO
Real Madrid
"It was a very tough match after losing against Maccabi, at an odd hour too, but the bottom line is we didn’t answer the call. We lacked experience against Siena, played very soft, and paid the price for it at the end. They defended well, played aggressive, and we didn’t really have an answer. We were focused on the task at hand, but missed too many easy shots and let them impose their physical style. This is a great competition and a great setting at the Final Four. We came here will a lot to prove and a lot of enthusiasm, and I hope we learned from our mistakes. The main goal was achieved in being here, but we were definitely hoping to make a bigger statement and now we will have to wait to come back here next season."
TOMIC, ANTE
Real Madrid
"It’s very difficult to play for the third place game after missing out on a chance to play for the title against Maccabi, but we are professionals and we need to play through it. They controlled the game from the start and never gave us a chance to come back. We had a lot of turnovers, like many other times this season, and that is an area we need to improve on. It wasn’t a question of effort, just mentally we weren’t in it as much as Siena. We need to try to forget this loss and move on. The Euroleague season was a huge success for us after Madrid being out of the Final Four the last 15 years. But since we made it here, we really wanted to do something special, and it just didn’t happen for us. I hope we can do it next year."
PRIGIONI, PABLO
Real Madrid
"We have to give it a try again next year. We made it back after a long while out of the Final Four, and now it has to be our goal to make it every year. Obradovic had warned before the semifinals that Siena is a very aggressive team, always playing to the limit and it’s hard to keep pace with them, but this experience should help us in getting better and matching their intensity next time around. We had a bad start, then got back in the game and managed to stay with them until the end of the third quarter, when they pulled away, a bit like in the semifinals against Maccabi. We had an awesome Euroleague season nonetheless, because we have a lot of guys here who had never played in the Euroleague, let alone the Final Four. With such a young squad, making it all the way here, we have to be satisfied and build on for next year."
SUAREZ, CARLOS
Real Madrid
"It’s a sour feeling to lose the third-place game. When you aren’t focused in the match, this is what happens, and we have not played at a Final Four level. We have missed too many easy shots on offense, and that took us out of the game mentally. Nobody thought we would make it this far. We are still lacking in many areas and we paid the rookie price here. Now we have to learn from this experience moving forward to not make the same mistakes next time we have this opportunity. It’s true we have not played well, but after 15 years out of the Final Four, we have to label this season as a success."
KAUKENAS, RIMANTAS
Montepaschi Siena
"It's a strange feeling to play the third place game when everyone is waiting for the final, but we're professionals so we must show up to every game like it's the most important game. I'm happy that we won today. It's good to finish the Euroleague season with a good taste. It made no difference to me to play against Real, although I played there last season. I focus on Montepaschi and our success and finishing third is a good result."
JARIC, MARKO
Montepaschi Siena
"We finished our Euroleague season today and now we look to the Italian League where we need to take the championship. We didn't come here to finish third, but once you play the third place game, you want to win it, and I'm happy that we did. If we win the championship it will be a good season because we made good results in Italy and we made the Euroleague Final Four, although we hoped to do more, finishing third in Europe isn't a bad spot."
ZISIS, NIKOS
Montepaschi Siena
"Playing the third place game is a mixture of feelings. On one side you play with no pressure, while on the other side you want to compete. I'm very, very happy that we won. It was important for us to show that we play all the way and don't stop. There were people who came from Siena all the way here to support us and this win is for them, because we wanted to show them we fight for them no matter in any situation. During the game you could hear them cheering for us and that showed how much they want us to win. So this win is for them."