A few days ago, in a huddle with basketball people, I had the audacity to launch a forecast for the Euroleague Final Four: “Now the favorite is Real Madrid”. A few weeks before, when Madrid was struggling to get out of the crisis, many would have described me as crazy, but things had changed a lot recently, the dynamics had taken an upward direction, and I was surprised that some of my interlocutors even nod at my words. Another of them, however, replied, loud and strong: “No, the favorite now is Efes”. His prediction, made wisely, would also have hung the madness sign in some phases of the regular league, in which the Turks have gone through severe ups and downs. If we look exclusively at the Euroleague standings, that first candidate should have been, without discussion, the Barcelona of MVP Mirotic, but something had changed along the way that brought down the Barça team from the leadership of the bets. His options were not eliminated at all, but they were leveled with those of his fellow travelers.
The two semi-finals in Belgrade showed tremendous equality. No one would have been surprised to see a Barça-Olympiacos match for the European crown today. But the outcome of the competition has led the final to a Madrid-Efes, towards the forecast released casually in an informal gathering, which cannot surprise any fan either. Madrid and Efes, despite having finished fourth and sixth in the regular league, despite having bottomed out in some phases, have arguments to lift the trophy. The duel pits the historic king, in search of the Eleventh, against the current king, in defense of the title. Two teams that have known how to resurface to be in the right place at the right time with their arsenal ready for battle. They were the covered favorites.