By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
In a reflective trip down memory lane on the 14th installment of Final Four Stories by Stoiximan, Pablo Laso revisited the crowning achievement of the 2017-18 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, winning the Final Four in Belgrade. Amidst the roar of the Stark Arena and the tactical battle against Fenerbahce Dogus, the veteran tactician shared the intimate, human side of a championship win, revealing that his first instinct after the final buzzer was to seek a moment of quiet connection with home.
“My wife,” Laso told Eurohoops when asked about the first person he contacted outside the arena. “We had some family issues at that time, and she didn’t travel. So, I don’t think it’s time for me to celebrate. I went to my locker room, and I went to the coaching staff locker room from Fenerbahce. Zeljko was not there. I congratulated them sincerely. Then I got into my locker room. For some moments, I was by myself, and then I talked to my wife.”
While the stars often command the headlines, he was quick to credit the unsung heroes of that night, specifically Fabien Causeur and Trey Thompkins. He noted how the unpredictability of the game often dictates its legends. “One of the great memories of that Final Four is probably, and this is how good basketball is,” Laso explained. “If you ask me, probably Fabien was going to play, maybe, the least minutes. At the end, Fabien was, for me, very important on that championship team, and he played unbelievable minutes.”
The image that remains burned into Laso’s memory, however, isn’t a specific play, but the sight on his bench, with leading stars Luka Doncic, Felipe Reyes, and Sergio Llull erupting in joy. “This is what makes a team big. All these stars are jumping and being happy, while being on the bench, knowing that we are achieving a great moment. They knew how important they were, but at that time, they were not on the floor. They were cheering for this team. I will keep that in my head for years,” he mentioned.
Turning his attention to Doncic, the Vitoria-Gasteiz native dismissed the idea that the noise surrounding the young phenom’s move to the NBA was ever a distraction. According to Laso, Doncic possessed a maturity that bordered on the prophetic. “Luka is very mature, and the great part is when people talk about Luka, I always say that his best thing, his best character, his best feeling is that he knows what’s up. So, if you think you’re bothering him, asking him about the NBA, you’re not bothering him. He knows,” he underlined.
Further highlighted the unique coaching dynamic he shared with the future NBA superstar, noting that Doncic was often one step ahead of the instructions being shouted from the sidelines. “I was going to tell him something, but he already knew. If you tell him, ‘Yeah, Luka, that was bad. That was a bad pass,’ he knows. I think that was why I was so sure, probably me one of the most, that he was going to be great in the NBA. Because he had that capacity of adjusting,” he said.
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