KLEIZA: It belongs to my team mates
Statistics had indicated it and now Euroleague has made it official. Linas Kleiza is the top scorer of this year’s Euroleague and during the Paris Final Four he will be receiving the “Alfonso Ford” award for his achievement.
The Lithuanian guard spoke to the official Euroleague web pae (euroleague.net) and dedicated the title to his team mates: “I hadn’t meant to win this title, but in such a good team with such talented players it’s much easier to succeed. Olympiacos has charismatic guards that make everyone’s job much easier and simpler. It’s a great honor for me, but this trophy doesn’t belong only to me. It’s the result of hard work and it also belongs to all my team mates”.
Kleiza dedicated the title to the prematurely gone Alfonso Ford: “This award is much more important because it bears the name of an old Olympiacos player, that of Alfonso Ford. This person is a great part of European basketball and I want to dedicate this trophy to his memory”.
The 24year old forward is the second player in Olympiacos history to receive this award after Ford in the 2001-02 season: “I hadn’t known that. On one hand, it makes me happy, but on the other, it’s not the most important thing for me, I would definitely exchange it for the Euroleague trophy”, Kleiza pointed out at Olympiacosbc.gr.
As for the rendezvous in Paris? “We are all really excited to be in the Final Four among the best teams of Europe. We have worked hard during the season and we continue doing that aiming to be ready at Paris. We do respect the other teams a lot and we know that we have to give our best selves in the two games, so that we can make our fans proud”.