I went to my first basketball games on Sunday. The final four of the Euroleague – CSKA Moscow, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Olympiacos – faced off at the O2 in London.
As is the case with handball, European football clubs seem to adopt basketball teams in a way which can appear strange to British eyes.
The O2 is a pretty quality arena
Before the weekend, I’d always been a bit sceptical about basketball: it seemed to be each team scored on pretty much every possession, which made it pretty boring.
Would you believe it, I was wrong! It was a great experience and I loved it. Real Madrid and Olympiacos contested the final, which was a bit of a see-saw affair: the Spaniards, led by Rudy Fernandez, jumped into a 27-10 lead by the end of the first quarter, before a dominant comeback from the Greeks – cheered on by a huge number of travelling supporters – saw them eventually take the spoils 100-88.
The third place play-off had been a thriller, won 74-73 by CSKA, and while the final was not on a knife-edge to the same extent, the quality of basketball was high and the game exciting.
Admittedly, I’m not exactly 100 per cent on the rules, but the atmosphere was infectious and, despite my initial intention to support Real Madrid (based on my El Clasico allegiance), I couldn’t help be overwhelmed by the majority of the fans inside the 20,000-seater venue.
Not to mention by one particular Olympiacos chant, which is sung to the tune of The Entertainer by Scott Joplin.
An Early Bath 
Leave a comment