After guiding Monaco to the EuroLeague Final Four with a thrilling Game 5 win over Barcelona, Vassilis Spanoulis praised both teams' fight, highlighted his players' resilience through ups and downs, and reaffirmed his winning mindset.
Game 5 between AS Monaco and FC Barcelona was as close as it gets in a do-or-die showdown. With a dramatic one-point win at home (85-84), the Roca Team clinched the series 3–2 and punched their ticket to the 2025 EuroLeague Final Four in Abu Dhabi.
Head coach Vassilis Spanoulis was thrilled with the outcome and showed respect to the opposition.
"Both teams fought hard all series, Barcelona is a hell of a team," Spanoulis told EuroLeague TV post-game. "Sometimes, when you have injuries, you become more together, and they came together. Even after 0-2, they showed character, but I also have to congratulate my players for the unbelievable effort.
"We had ups and downs during the season, but in the end, we succeeded in going to the Final Four," Spanoulis added. "That's a huge, huge, huge accomplishment for this organization."
Spanoulis, a three-time EuroLeague champion as a player, also mentioned Monaco's step-by-step approach to success.
"Our goal as an organization for this year was to go first in the playoffs. After that, our goal was to go to the Final Four. My goal is always to be first," Spanoulis underlined.
In the semifinals, Monaco will face Olympiacos Piraeus—Spanoulis' former team.
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