The eternal shadow of suspicion that always surrounded everything that had to do with FIBA in the decades prior to the 21st century, especially in its club competitions, is something that does not seem to have had much interest in getting rid of in these eights years of existence of the Champions League, less with the designation of Belgrade as the venue for the 'Final Four'.
A tournament without a host, as was already known, with three Spaniards, two Greeks, two Germans and a Turk in the quarterfinals. What's more, not one of the 32 teams that started the season in October is from Serbia. It is difficult to believe in the roots and appeal of the Champions League for the fans of this country, not even in one that breathes basketball from all four sides.
Thus, the utopia of filling the Stark Arena, with capacity for nearly 20,000 spectators, is more than ruled out. The difficulty of traveling with the Balkan country for the Spanish teams that participate in this 'Final Four' (UCAM, Unicaja and Tenerife) will mean that between the three of them they will not even come close to a thousand displaced fans, since between 200 and 250 fans will be estimate for each one. About 1,000 are expected by Peristeri, a team from Athens, whose city has between one and three direct flights daily to Belgrade, lasting only an hour and a half.
Radovic, who knows the city well, recommends a visit to the Temple of Saint Sava and Kalemegdan Castle for fans
But the UCAM fans want to make their encouragement felt even thousands of kilometers from Murcia, and that is why yesterday, at the departure of the university expedition trip, a large group of fans gathered at the Palace to wish their heroes luck. , who slept in Madrid last night and this morning they already flew to the Serbian capital.
The one who knows Belgrade best
At least among the Spanish teams, the role of host is free. No one will even be able to get close to the Greeks in the stands, but UCAM is the team with the most Balkan pedigree: it has a trio of Montenegrins in Nemanja Radovic, Marko Todorovic and coach Blagota Sekulic; in addition to the naturalized Jonah Radebaugh, and Dylan Ennis is also Serbian on his passport.
All of them, except Todorovic and Radebaugh, played at some point in their careers in Belgrade, as did Rodions Kurucs on his return from the NBA. And that is why Radovic considers that “we are on our ground.”
A city divided mainly by the rivalry between Partizan, where Kurucs and Sekulic played, and Red Star, where Ennis played. The latter, using his role as an 'influencer', has called on the fans of his former team to cheer on the Murcians. “They will respond, for sure,” says the charismatic guard, for whom the social mass of the red and whites is “one of the best in Europe, along with that of Murcia,” he says, laughing before admitting that “I had to say it! ». “If I see even a few Red Star fans cheering us on, it will mean a lot,” he says more seriously.
Ennis arrived there after passing through Mega Bemax, where Nemanja Radovic also played at the beginning of his career. They both know Belgrade well. Radovic is the best tour guide on the UCAM staff in Belgrade.
There are many recommendations from the university captain for displaced Murcians, whom he encourages to visit “the historic center” and, of course, “the Kalemegdan, a huge and very beautiful castle.” It all depends, as Radovic well knows, “on the time you have”, but he recommends that everyone organize themselves. «In Belgrade is the largest Orthodox church in the Balkans», the Temple of Saint Sava.
With a game on Friday and another on Sunday, there will not only be room for tourism, but also for fun. For those who want to try traditional Serbian cuisine, Radovic would choose to take a walk, “especially at night”, along “Skadarlija street, where there is also always country music”, a place that has pre-World War II taverns.
#39Belgrade #Connection39 #UCAM #truth
